“Gratitude doesn’t always arrive on schedule; sometimes it’s a day late. Somewhere between the boiling pots on the stove, embarrassing memories being dished out, and laughter echoing off the living room walls, my family and I find our own rhythm of Thanksgiving,” writes Isabelle Plamondon. “My mom is a [Leelanau County] dispatcher who often has to work holidays since she’s a single parent. She’s worked on Thanksgiving almost every year, helping people whose holidays may not be going as planned. She, and other first-responders like her, see the dark side to every holiday before celebrating their own.”