Giving Thanks

There is so much to be thankful for in this day and age, we make shit up just to bitch.

So in the spirit of our recent Top 10 jags, the Top 10 Things I am Thankful For:

1) My Health. Let's face it, I can enjoy everything else on this list because I am healthy. Sure, my blood pressure is high; my left knee is partly titanium and have various and sundry pains, but at 5' 11" and 165 lbs, I can still score well on the Army's PT.

2) My Family. Again, the kids can be a pain, the wife can get grouchy, but these are small compared to the joy they bring me. I also still have both parents, a brother and sister-in-law that I love dearly and an extended family remarkably free from tragedy.

3) My Friends. I am not a tremendously social person, but I am blessed with friendship of various depths from the "can tell anything to" to the "how 'bout them Yankees" and each is meaningful to me. My oldest friendship is 26 years old and my newest will start Monday.

4) My Work. I have professional options and get paid very well for what I do...and it does not seem to hard for me. (But it seems hard to others!) Only when the job gets stressful are we thankful for the routine of a good job.

5) Boredom. There is a reputed Chinese curse that goes, "may you live in interesting times." Real or not, a boring life is not all bad. A can go a few months without much changing and that becomes better and better each year.

6) Small Challenges. Okay, there are small challenges which I am thankful for. These are learning experiences that make me a better parent, husband, boss, etc.

7) Small Moments. When you are a teen, you blow through life like a bull in a china shop. Now, I appreciate the small moments in life. The first snow (yesterday), God's creatures, a connection with another human - each is precious, but often overlooked.

8) My Catholicism. I am getting to appreciate God as I age. Further, I am appreciating the Trinity even more. The issue of a superior being has been long settled for me. But Christ shows me how to incorporate God in my relationship with Him and my fellow man. Finally, the Holy Spirit show me how to make God personal to me. One God, three divinities, but it has taken me years to understand the importance of each.

9) My Fellow Man. Sure, some are scum, but all-in-all there are 6 billion others in this world who are looking to make their small part a better place and thereby make the whole a better place. I thank them and wish them continued success.

10) The Future. Sure, we could screw it up, but I don't think we will. The future will be a better place for my kids and their kids, then it was for my folks and me.

To Thew and Tdub and to you my dear reader, have a Happy Thanksgiving.