Tuesday, November 25, 2025

Every year around Thanksgiving, we hear a lot about gratitude.  Big, sweeping gratitude, the kind that belongs in greeting cards or glossy commercials.  I love occasions for big sweeping gratitude.   But most of the real thankfulness in life is built on smaller things. The ordinary things. The things you don’t notice until you’re old enough, or still for long enough, to realize how much they matter.  And how much you rely on them.

For me, gratitude shows up in the basics: a warm house when the weather shifts, a familiar recipe that always turns out the same, the simple comfort of people who you’ve known long enough that no explanations are required. Not dramatic gestures, just steady anchors.

It’s funny how much that mirrors our industry.

In real estate, title and settlement, and consumer finance, we spend a lot of time preparing for what’s next — interest-rate swings, regulatory changes, new technologies, shifting markets. But the truth is, the things that hold us together are rarely the headline-grabbing ones. They’re the fundamentals: reliable information, trusted relationships, and staying connected even when the pace picks up.

This fall feels like one of those moments when the basics matter more than ever. So much is moving fast…and more is coming. But Thanksgiving is a terrific reminder that steadiness is built from simple elements: good inputs, good people, and a little bit of time around the same table.

So, as we head into the last stretch of the year, I’m finding myself grateful for the ordinary. For teams who show up every day. For colleagues who share what they’re seeing so everyone else can make better decisions. For readers and listeners who rely on October Research to help make sense of a landscape that doesn’t seem to slow down.

It’s not flashy, but then again, most worthwhile things aren’t.

Gratitude isn’t grand — it’s cumulative. A small, steady habit that keeps us grounded while everything else shifts.

We’re grateful for your continued reliance upon us, for the knowledge you need.  Happy Thanksgiving.

Until Next Time,

Mary Schuster
Chief Knowledge Officer
October Research, LLC