I don’t know about you guys, but it seems as if 2025 has lost its mind right here towards the end of the year.

For whatever reason, and it might just be the things that are happening in my direct orbit, it seems as if the last a few months have simply taken a turn for the chaotic in a year that was pretty chill and dare I say, normal.

But then, who can really say what normal really means in this climate.

In our incredibly polarized and deeply divided country, what was normal for me all year long was probably someone else’s worst nightmare. In fact, I know it was since I’m pretty much plugged into the insanity that is modern politics 24/7.

After all, if you let those on the opposite side of the aisle tell it, we are battling fascism right here on our very shores and we are living under the worst administration of all time.

I suppose what I’m getting at is, despite how I might personally feel about the way 2025 is winding down, there’s probably been plenty of bad to go around this entire time, depending on your particular circumstances and view of the world.

Putting aside politics for a moment, there’s been an incredible amount of sickness, accidents, deaths and misfortune in my neck of the woods.

This isn’t really anything new of course. People leave this world every day and at every waking hour the world over and most of us are able to watch that carnage from the safety of our televisions and phones.

Still, it’s never really real until it happens in your backyard, is it?

Our own editor-in-chief’s bout with illness aside, there have been so many friends, parents of friends, distant relatives and even some old enemies that have had to readjust their Thanksgiving plans to accommodate their new circumstances.

And those are just a lucky few. There are some people that I’ve seen on my Facebook feed, some people I have known my entire life that will not be attending this coming Thanksgiving at all.

And that’s the funny thing about life, you never know exactly when something is going to be your last hurrah. You never imagine that the routine visit you make to your friend's house may be the last one you ever get to experience, for you or for him.

There are some people who are far more philosophical than I am that would tell you that that is the inherent beauty and tragedy of the human condition.

And in some ways, I suppose that’s true. If nothing else, it certainly puts a lot of things into perspective.

I write a political column every week and I’ve done so for the last decade, as unbelievable as that sounds. It seems like just yesterday I was walking into the Beacon's office on downtown Water Street and preparing to crank out my first controversial piece with all the glee in the world.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s just as much fun now as it’s always been. In my earlier days, there was even a time where I would be hitting a stride, really, throwing out the hard hitting facts as I saw them, and imagine that some reader may be able to take what I written and finally put there obnoxious leftist relative in an intellectual checkmate.

I like to think that anyway. But, it’s 2025 is coming to a close, Thanksgiving approaches and so many that I’ve known over the years won’t get a chance to attend it, it makes hoping for some relative on relative fireworks that much less appealing.

So I suppose what I’m saying is, don’t lose sight of what this season is all about and how fortunate we all are to be able to enjoy it with those that are still here among the living.

It feels easy if there is no end to the game. No end to the noise of all of the political fight and petty things we believe are important to engage in whether on Twitter or in real life.

But frankly, there are far more important things in life than waging war on your ideological opposites and getting to brag about it on social media.

So this holiday season, I think it’s important that we all unplugged from the noise, put our grievances aside, and remember that even our most irritating and obnoxious relatives will someday be gone, as will we all.

Someday soon, you’re going to miss all of the encounters, and if you live long enough, you’re going to find that you’re no longer celebrating the holidays with anyone wearing a familiar face.

So enjoy the time you have and really embrace being present in the moment as you sit around the table, swapping stories, arguments and laughs.

Because as cliché as it sounds, father time don’t mess around, and before you know it, all of those moments you took for granted will be a memory.

As my old Shiloh Church of Christ Bishop Daniel Gilliam is probably still fond of saying, “show somebody some love” this Thanksgiving season.