John Gomez Thanksgiving 2017

This month features perhaps my favorite holiday: Thanksgiving. When I was a kid, Christmas was my favorite. By far. I suppose that’s true for lots of kids. What kid doesn’t like toys and presents after all? And there is all the fun “magic” and build up that goes along with it. When I was a kid, I would get so excited to watch “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” and “Frosty the Snowman” on TV. And in those days, you couldn’t “record” it or just throw in a DVD. You had to plan. Take out the TV Guide, find out when the show was coming on, and make sure you were in your pajamas in front of the TV. The whole world gets decorated and different. I can understand why it was my favorite then. My kids all say the same today

But for me, today, I like Thanksgiving best. I suppose I now enjoy the absolute purity of the day. We simply celebrate gratitude. And friends. And family. Without much by way of expectation or adornment. Most of us eat turkey and pie but not all of us. And even if we don’t, the strength of the day remains steady and untarnished. We simply give thanks. I love that.

I suppose I now enjoy the absolute purity of the day. We simply celebrate gratitude. And friends. And family. Without much by way of expectation or adornment.

I am a strong believer in the power of gratitude and give thanks through prayer daily. Despite whatever challenge we are going through in our lives, we always have something to be thankful for. Most relevant here, I suppose, I am very thankful that I get to do what I do for a living. I sometimes ponder what I would do if I was not a trial lawyer for people. I have not yet come up with much of an answer. The most promising options? Teach yoga. Own a gym. Tend bar. Teach kids. Run a nonprofit. All those things would be cool and worthwhile I suppose.

But I feel like right now I am doing exactly what God put me on earth to do. And I am very thankful for that. I am thankful for the skills that God blessed me with. He gave me innate skills as a litigator and trial attorney. He blessed me with a fast mind and compassionate heart. I am of course very thankful that our firm has been able to help literally thousands of deserving people over the past 11 years. That really makes me feel great about the work we do. I am thankful for our amazing team. I truly believe we have the best group of trial attorneys and professionals on the planet. And they take amazing care of our clients. I am thankful for that. I know that our firm would not be where it is today without the support of our clients, friends and supporters in the legal and larger communities. If you are reading this, that includes you. And so thank you for being our friend. Think about what you are thankful for and enjoy the people you love. I am very thankful for you.