As a kid growing up in western New Hampshire, the image of Christmas morning never failed to bring me comfort. I recall warm thoughts of being with family, of snow and soft footsteps, of crisp air fragrant with pine and burning alders, of wondering if that wish for a new sled might come true.

As we get older, this season becomes a time to take stock of what can’t always be measured in possessions, to be especially thankful for the loved ones we have in our lives and our ability to live freely in a nation that makes so much of what we have possible.

This promises to be a tough year for many families throughout New Hampshire. Companies are cutting costs, investors are scared and pulling back, a lot of folks are losing their jobs. There is uneasiness in the air that we haven’t felt in some time. Each of us likely knows someone — a friend, a neighbor, a family member — who is struggling.

As they have in the past, these times help define who we are as a people. They call for us to open our hearts to our neighbors in the spirit of charity and community. They are times we should try not to greet with fear as citizens and consumers, but with the optimism, determination and faith that have carried us through previous trials.

So much of what has made this country so remarkable has been the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the American people — the belief that through hard work, almost anything can be accomplished. The days ahead will bring challenge and introspection, but also renewal. They are days when all of us, I suspect, will be counting our blessings and taking special notice of simple things.

As a parent, I often take my children to the swimming pool at Crotched Mountain Rehabilitation Center for exercise. It is an experience that at once breaks your heart and fills you with gratitude that the children there, many of whom endure lifelong brain injuries, are receiving the care they need. I was admittedly nervous when I began bringing the kids, wondering how they might interact with the patients. Interestingly enough, my kids have taught me a lesson in the way they splash with the other children in the pool and swim their laps, unfazed by any outward differences. Like Elizabeth Orton Jones and so many others who have come through that center, my children see the other children for who they are: kids. In a world growing more complicated by the day, it is one humbling reason to have hope.