If your house is like my house, fallen leaves have been raked, bagged and /or mulched multiple times already this autumn.

My husband just took note the other day that within just a few weeks, we’ll be hanging Christmas lights.

And this week, I’m already thinking about how many hundreds of dollars I need to set aside for Thanksgiving week grocery shopping, and for ordering my holiday pies.

Also this time of year, our newspaper gets very busy collecting and formatting many, many submissions from readers who are sharing their “thankful thoughts.”

It’s become quite a longtime newspaper tradition in which we invite local folks to submit to us what they are most thankful for. We then share those thoughts — every one of them — with our readers, free of charge, on Thanksgiving Day.

This tradition started at our newspaper decades ago, and I can remember as a young cub reporter in the newsroom being required to decipher the hundreds of often hard-to-read, hand-scrawled submissions that had arrived to be printed in our annual Thanksgiving Day edition. Back then, the news staff would busily peck away at our keyboards, typing them for publication.

We still get hundreds of submissions each year, but now, most come submitted digitally by readers. (I’m thankful for that!)

While the format for submissions might have changed, the sentiment remains the same. And as always, we encourage everyone to take part. Young schoolchildren still submit their thoughts as class projects, but nowadays, we do request that the teachers type them up and

send them to us by

email.

Sadly, our world is very polarized these days. It is filled with much hate, disagreement and dissatisfaction. We hope that makes our readers even more interested in taking part in our invitation to share positive thoughts in time for Thanksgiving.

Whether it’s the fall weather, encouragement of family or a life changing event, readers are encouraged to submit why they are thankful. Not only are the submissions a good way to share your positivity, but it’s also a great opportunity to encourage teens and children to develop an attitude of appreciation.

As always, local schools, organizations, nursing homes, etc., also are encouraged to participate. We do ask that groups send their submissions electronically. You can submit up to 25 words per person. After each submission, please list the person’s name. If it is a class project, please instead include the student’s name and grade. Also include the name of

the school and community. Include the entire group or classroom into one email.

Others come from readers who are thankful for things like new jobs, or their health or their children. Still others come from people who are going through exceptionally tough times, but are able to share uplifting thoughts by maintaining a strong appreciation for the people who care about them and the good things that have happened to them this year.

Usually we get hundreds and hundreds of submissions, and we’d love to publish them all. That’s why we ask that they be brief — no more than about 25 words.

Forms for writing thanks are published from time to time in this newspaper. Fill out the coupon, attach a separate piece of paper with your reason and mail it to the newspaper, Attn: Giving Thanks, 240 Franklin St. SE, Warren, OH 44483.

Or if you’d prefer, email to givingthanks@trib

today.com.

Submissions should include a person’s complete name, a phone number (not for publication) and the community in which you reside.

The time is waning. Please submit your giving thanks submissions early this week. Deadline for submissions is the end of the day Wednesday.

We’ll be waiting and looking forward to what you have to say.

Linert is editor of the Tribune Chronicle and The Vindicator.

blinert@tribtoday.com