By Matt Nicholson

As November 2021 fades into a memory, did you take time to be thankful?

No worries if you didn’t. Every day is a good chance to reflect on things we should be thankful for.

As always, some thoughts about my recent adventures as mayor of the best small town in America before I finish this thought.

Small Business Saturday was started in 2010 to encourage everyone to remember small businesses when they were doing their holiday shopping. This year, like every year, I hope you remember your mom-and-pop stores not just one Saturday a year but every day of the year.

Statistics show that $68 of every $100 spent at a local business stays in the local community compared to $43 of every $100 spent at a chain store. That $68 stays via donations, wages, taxes, local supplies and local services.

It isn’t that chain stores don’t make many of the same purchases. They just tend to make many of them outside your local community. One more stat that I thought was interesting before I move on is that 99.7% of all U.S. employers are small businesses.

Recently, the thoroughfare committee came together to hammer out the final pieces of what they wanted to see in an ordinance related to side-by-sides on public roadways. Watching the process at work is always enjoyable to me as thoughts and opinions come together to form a final picture that will be presented to the city council for a vote in December.

This has been many months in the making, and while I am not sure if it will pass or not, I am sure the committee members have worked hard researching and preparing this document for all seven members of the council to vote on.

On a cool Wednesday morning, I had a chance to work with Bruce from the Department of Public Works. We spent time collecting yard waste that will be composted and hopefully be back in a flowerbed near you when the time is right.

Some of the things I noticed were that while plastic bags make larger cleanups easier, many people can keep their yards looking good with a 30-gallon container and a regular schedule. That 30-gallon container also makes it easier on the backs of the yard waste crew as they come out and collect those grass clippings, leaves, old plants or whatever organic material you clean out of your yard.

Thanks, Bruce, for the fun morning, and to the residents, thank you for keeping our community looking great one yard at a time.

Every day, I try to be thankful for what I have and all of the amazing things I get to see firsthand here in our community.

Today, though, I want to say thank you to all of those who put more positive energy into the world than negative, those who choose to see that glass as half full and are thankful that it is.

Energy is contagious, and that fact doesn’t discriminate on positive energy or negative energy. I see those who regularly are promoting Seymour and trying to help others see what an amazing place we call home. Those who might not yet realize it, but they are a gift to someone, to our community and to the world with the simplest of actions like a smile or an encouraging word.

Today, I leave you with a double shot of Mother Teresa quotes, and I hope you realize the greatness that you already carry within.

“Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”

Nicholson is the mayor of Seymour.