It’s such a cliché, but when one perceives what’s going on at this moment in time, all I can say is that I am so thankful to have my family close to me—my biological family and my OffBeat family—and to be healthy, relatively comfortable and happy.

We are so spoiled in this country; so spoiled. While we have problems with inequality among our countrymen,an insane politics-as-entertainment-and-reality-television that dominates the media; a diminishing middle class; crappy education and health care policy—and so many more issues—I can certainly tell you that most of us in America lead such relatively easy lives, and we have a whole lot to be thankful for.

I spent the night last weekend with my mom, who’s 85 and in increasingly poor health. She had a crisis last week and was sent home from the hospital to recover. I mentioned to her how difficult it is to get older because the machines that are our bodies slowly (but surely) become less efficient and ultimately break down. That sounds pretty fatalistic, right?

You know what she said—sick as she has been? “Well, it could be a lot worse.”

She didn’t know it, but she made my day and made me realize that I am thankful to still have my mother to talk to, even about stuff like this. I’m lucky and thankful to have a loving husband and family, friends who care about me, a fulfilling job, and a business that supports the people who need the most help from media just to survive: musicians, artists, writers and culture bearers.

I have a lot to be thankful for, and I know you do as well. Make this Thanksgiving one where you really count your blessings, and have a great one.