AOA Thanksgiving charity drawing 2018: What are you thankful for this year?

bowl of cherries

Drawing's closed! Winner's been emailed!

In our (almost) annual tradition, we'd like to know:

What are you thankful for this year?

Please share in the comments -- it could be anything or anyone.

As is tradition, we will draw one comment at random and AOA will donate $100 in that person's name to the charity of their choice.

That last time we did this, the winner chose Capital Roots at his charity.

The editors will start things off below.

Important: To be part of the drawing, you must submit your comment (that answers the question) by 11:59 pm on November 21, 2018. You must include a working email address (that you check regularly). The winner will be notified via email by noon on November 26 and must respond by noon on November 27. The choice of charity is totally subject to AOA approval. For example: We're not going to give money to People Against Puppies. (But we know you'll make a good choice.)

Mary
My cup runneth over.

And I know that. But I don't always show it.

There are times when I'm overwhelmed with work and demands in life, but I've recently been reminded that even that work, even those demands are blessings. I have work, so I have purpose. I have people in my world who need me and value me, so I am busy. I am fortunate. I am privileged. I am grateful. I am grateful for work that is valued by members of my community. I am grateful for the community that inspires it. I am grateful for my creative, honest business partner, who made it all possible and pushes me to be better.

I'm grateful for the education that helped open doors for me, and for my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who invested in me, who valued me and taught me to invest in and value others.

I'm grateful for a safe and loving home and for my wonderful husband who shares it. I'm grateful for good health, and loyal friends.

And ice cream. I'm grateful for ice cream.

Greg
I'm thankful to have had the opportunity to work on AOA. To be a part of this place in this way. To meet all the people I've met. To work with a person who has an enormous heart.

I'm thankful for my neighborhood -- for the nice people who live there, and for the way it makes me feel when I walk through it.

I'm thankful for the time we had with Otto.

And I'm thankful to be married to my favorite person in the world.

Thank you.

Comments

I am grateful for continuing good health, also the (relative) safety of the community many of us are lucky to live in.

I'm grateful for my dog. No matter how bad my day was, she'll greet me at the door, doing a happy dance, and give me a reason to exhale and smile.

I'm grateful for my cat. At some point during every evening, she'll jump up on my chest and use her little noggin to knock the phone out of my hand so I can pet her.

One makes me smile; the other helps me reduce my screen time. What more could I ask for?

Whiskey!

My family. They put up with me.

I am grateful for the wonderful mix of old and new sights to see in Albany, and the ever interesting humans who inhabit this place, and to the proximity Albany has to such adventures as Adirondack hikes, Shakespeare in Lenox Mass, music in the Berkshires, and the beauty and history of Saratoga.

I am thankful for my family and friends. It's an easy answer and sounds cliche, but in a year of personal ups and downs I am fortunate to know they are there for me.

I am thankful for: Good family, friends, & neighbors. A self-employed job in the arts with happy, grateful clients every day. Bountiful gardens of fruits and vegetables. Kayaking on the Adirondack Lakes in a handmade wood vessel that is a work of art. Beating cancer with a full recovery this year! Every new day is a gift. 'Gratitude is Enlightment.'

I am thankful for COOD- Company of other Dads

I am grateful for my health, my family and my friends.

I am grateful for my friends who are also my family. I am grateful to have a job doing what I love, most of the time. I am grateful I have a home, warm clothes and desserts!

For the CDTA and other bus drivers. Cant think of a more difficult and mostly thankless job!

I'm thankful for having ending up in downtown Troy, where I get to be part of the wonderful community it offers.

Honestly, not much this year.

I am thankful for family, friends and community.

I'm thankful for my mom's health, today and always.

I’m so thankful for the health, happiness and general wellbeing of my family and close friends this year

Snow! :-)

With all of the awful events happening every single day, I am thankful that I get to come home to my happy, healthy, little family.

I am thankful for my kids. I have a 10-year-old son and a 1-year-old daughter. I had lost hope in having a second child after a miscarriage a few years ago. These two goofballs are the absolute light of my life and I am thankful for them every single day. It's a simple thing to be thankful for, but they are my daily joy.

I am thankful for my health, my family, my friends, and my dog.

I am thankful and blessed to be raising a strong, brave, fierce, kind, and smart girl in today's world. I have a feeling she will be walking in RBG's footsteps. :-)

I am grateful for my work family, who have shown me much needed support and exhibited great patience this past year.

My wife and children.

for local people that make life better like Lisa from Clear Space Organizing and Rachel at Pomco Wealth Mgmt and Fatemeh at Joli Salon.

I'm so thankful to have a great job, dog, and husband in Troy (not necessarily in that order) and to have had wonderful opportunities come my way this year that challenged me and tested my time management skills. In a year when so many of the larger things feel scary and outside of my control, I'm so grateful for this solid foundation to stand on.

To live where I do. To have a job. But more than either, for family and friends.

I am thankful for my dog, Tilly. She likes to bark at other dogs in the neighborhood like she is Cujo, she tears up my lawn, and she wants to eat my pet rats. However, Tilly is love. Tilly is life.

I'm so thankful for the good health of those for whom I care, the ability to travel and the people in my life who make me smile.

I am thankful for all the kind people of the world who choose to act out of compassion and loving-kindness.

Harry Potter, Coffee, My Dog. That I live in a state that is not red.

I am grateful for the veterinarians working with me to keep my cat healthy and happy for as long as possible since getting his lung cancer diagnosis. I am also grateful that my family is helping me with some of the costs, and that I am able to cover the costs I need to in the first place.

Grateful Dalila Yeend is back home safe with her family, not arbitrarily held by ICE in Batavia. Puts a lot in perspective.

AOA

Good friends and family.

I am thankful for libraries. In a world where economic disparity is growing, and truth is more confusing and harder to find, libraries are on the front lines, fighting for information literacy, civic engagement and civic literacy, and to reduce disparity by making the same information and content available to everyone. Libraries can save us all.

I am thankful that most people seem to care about others.

I am thankful for CDTA! I am able to affordably visit most of the Capital Region with a little planning and no car thanks to CDTA.

I know contest ended & am grateful to see internet & of COURSE MARVELOUS MARY & GREGG THE GREAT!

Hi there. Comments have been closed for this item. Still have something to say? Contact us.

The Scoop

For a decade All Over Albany was a place for interested and interesting people in New York's Capital Region. It was kind of like having a smart, savvy friend who could help you find out what's up. AOA stopped publishing at the end of 2018.

Recently on All Over Albany

Thank you!

When we started AOA a decade ago we had no idea what was going to happen. And it turned out better than we could have... (more)

Let's stay in touch

This all feels like the last day of camp or something. And we're going to miss you all so much. But we'd like to stay... (more)

A few things I think about this place

Working on AOA over the past decade has been a life-changing experience for me and it's shaped the way I think about so many things.... (more)

Albany tightened its rules for shoveling snowy sidewalks last winter -- so how'd that work out?

If winter ever gets its act together and drops more snow on us, there will be sidewalks to shovel. And shortly after that, Albany will... (more)

Tea with Jack McEneny

Last week we were fortunate enough to spend a few minutes with Jack McEneny -- former state Assemblyman, unofficial Albany historian, and genuinely nice guy.... (more)

Recent Comments

My three year old son absolutely loving riding the train around Huck Finn's (Hoffman's) Playland this summer.

Thank you!

...has 27 comments, most recently from Ashley

Let's stay in touch

...has 4 comments, most recently from mg

A look inside 2 Judson Street

...has 3 comments, most recently from Diane (Agans) Boyle

Everything changes: Alicia Lea

...has 2 comments, most recently from Chaz Boyark

A few things I think about this place

...has 13 comments, most recently from Katherine