By Sen. Matt Pouliot

Thanksgiving is the embodiment of American’s rich cultural heritage. When the very first settlers left Plymouth, England, in September 1620 on a small ship called the Mayflower, they were lured by the hopes of prosperity and freedom in the “New World.”

Little did the Pilgrims know that the uncharted wilderness they arrived at over two months later would become our great nation of today. Yet when they anchored near the tip of Cape Cod – far from their Hudson River destination – those 102 Pilgrims hoped it would be. Hello, this is Senator Matt Pouliot of Kennebec County. I am honored to join you for the final Republican Radio Address of the 131st Legislature and my final address as the State Senator representing the communities of District 15.

As the story goes, the Pilgrims crossed Massachusetts Bay a month later and began establishing a village in Plymouth. Unfortunately, only half of the Mayflower’s original passengers and crew lived through that first winter to see the spring. The survivors moved ashore in March of 1621 where they received an astonishing visit from an English-speaking member of the Abenaki tribe.

He later returned with another Native American named Squanto, who was a member of the Pawtuxet tribe and taught the malnourished Pilgrims how to cultivate corn, extract sap from maple trees, catch fish in the rivers and avoid poisonous plants. He also helped them forge an alliance with the local Wampanoag tribe, a pact that would endure for more than 50 years and remains one of the sole examples of harmony between European colonists and Native Americans.

Later that fall, the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and later by states until President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it Thanksgiving Day in 1863.

Having just celebrated Thanksgiving Day this week, I think it’s important to remember why we celebrate this very special day as we do. The idea that we take a day to step back, gather our families together and celebrate our blessings is just as important today as it was for those Pilgrims over 400 years ago who needed the help of others just to survive.

Many today simply consider the annual holiday as a day off or the springboard into the Christmas season. Others enjoy its daylong abundance of food, football games, Thanksgiving Day parades or even time in a deer stand. However, I believe the day’s true meaning is still rooted in its origins of community, unity and our recognition of the blessings in our lives.

Thanksgiving is the time when we take stock in what we are grateful for and focus on what we’ve been blessed with. It’s a time to see family and friends separated by the passage of time and distance. It’s a celebration of our heritage and the blessings of life, freedom, prosperity and happiness. It’s also a moment to celebrate our dreams of what is still to come.

For me, Thanksgiving is about reflecting on all the blessings I have been fortunate to have in my life and enjoying every precious moment with my family. I think we can all agree that Thanksgiving is a time to appreciate all that is good in our lives and the kindness of others.

As a new Legislature convenes next week and my legislative service comes to an end, I want to say it has been an absolute honor and privilege to serve the people of Maine in both the Maine Senate and House of Representatives. I can honestly say it has been a humbling experience for me. More importantly, public service has made me a better person for it.

In fact, I believe Gandhi summed it up perfectly when he said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Again, I am Senator Matt Pouliot of Kennebec County. Thank you for listening.

Senator Matt Pouliot represents District 15, which includes communities in Kennebec County. He is the Senate Republican Lead for the Legislature’s Labor and Housing Committee and the Select Committee on Housing.