Returning thanks comes in many ways for people and how they live their lives and go about their daily routines.

It could be smiling at a stranger or kneeling in prayer. It could be serving a free supper to law enforcement officers, just as the Cartersville Ruritan Club recently did. It could be donating untold hours weekly to the recently established Heart of Virginia Christmas Mother as Nancy Haga does — seeking to help those without enough money to afford a nice Christmas next month. It could come in the form of helping disabled veterans take to the woods for a hunt, as the Buckingham-based Dues Already Paid does.

Returning thanks — as it should be — is a daily routine for those who work in education, especially teachers, as they work feverishly day in and day out to mold our future leaders.

We offer thanks to those who spent days before Thanksgiving to make sure a family in Buckingham, who lost everything they owned when their house burned on Chellowe Road recently, had clothes, food and warm places to rest for the family and children.

The Heart of Virginia — Farmville, Buckingham, Prince Edward and Cumberland — is the best community to live, work and play, and we thank you, its residents, for making it this way.

Thanksgiving is a time spent with family, friends and loved ones, recalling old memories and making new ones.

Let it also be a time that we reflect on our blessings, and explore ways to bless others who are less fortunate. One way is donating or volunteering for one of our many food pantries and benevolent groups across the area as we approach Christmas.

“It’s always better to give than receive,” the old adage goes. We surely believe this to be true, and encourage you to give thanks, not only today, but all year long.