You don’t need a turkey to say thanks.

No, not ham or pie or eggnog, either.

You need reflection and perspective and an awareness that — for most of us, anyway — what we have is what we need.

Greater Port Arthur has weathered a storm of historic proportions, one that affects many of our neighbors in disproportionate fashion. But Southeast Texas as a whole weathered the worst of what was directed toward us by Hurricane and Tropical Storm Harvey and 14 months past the tempest, things are improving.

We are alive, and that is worth thanks. Hurricanes and wildfires and other natural catastrophes that followed Harvey elsewhere exacted far costlier tolls in loss of human life. We lament every life lost in the 2017 Southeast Texas storms. But we should know that it might have been worse.

For that we must be thankful.

Long-promised federal aid is coming. Checks are not in the mail but we can see, in fits and starts, some early returns in federal help in rebuilding some Port Arthur housing. That means the hardest-pressed among us may see a day when they return to their homes. That money may arrive next year.

For that, too, we should give thanks.

Commerce continues. Many businesses and industries have revived, and if the returns are not always robust, there are some returns. That means employment for those who want to work is rebounding in Southeast Texas. New projects are continuing or are underway around the region, measured in construction jobs that continue at Total and Golden Pass and Cheniere and may yet follow with Port Arthur LNG. Permanent jobs, someday, will follow construction jobs.

For that, too, we ought to be thankful.

For those without work, for those who lack the skills or the wherewithal to seek meaningful employment, there are options. The Chamber of Commerce offers resume writing and soft skills classes that give local people needed awareness of how to get into the job market, how to present themselves, how to lend their best efforts to the advancement of this community.

That, too, merits our thanks.

For this, we should also be grateful: That when Greater Port Arthur faced its most imposing, historic challenges, we as a community of people were here to face them. It’s easy to boast about the old days, about how grand Port Arthur was. It’s immeasurably tougher to face the present, when challenges abound, to envision a future that is brighter and more prosperous. More challenging still is to stand fast and make that future happen.

As a community and a people, we have been given a bounty of riches and mercies, not all of them earned. Think about those now and be grateful.