Thanksgiving thoughts - 2010

One of my daily affirmations is "I am gracious, accountable, and focused."

Grace, in my mind, is to be appreciative of what you've got. So in a way, Thanksgiving is every day for me.

I am grateful for things that fall into major subsets - people, situations, and things.

I am grateful for my wife, who swore she'd make me laugh every day, and she keeps her word.
I am grateful for my mother, who is probably my best friend.
I am grateful for my brothers and sister, because no matter what, we know we can count on each other.

I am grateful to be back in touch with many family members that I'd fallen out of touch with.
I am grateful to be alive, and to have a chance every day to make a positive impact on the world around me - especially my wife's world.
I am grateful to understand what it is to be healthy, and to be healthy and happy.

I am grateful for a job that reminds me that I love to work, and I love being a technical writer.
I am grateful for my bikes - Shtiya and Moyo - my strength and my heart.
I am grateful for the wisdom that I earned from the University of Hard Knocks.

On the night before Thanksgiving, I listen to Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" album, and Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon". They remind me of when I first truly listened to those albums - on the day before Thanksgiving, when my grandma came to spend the night, and help my mother with Thanksgiving dinner preparations. When I think of my Grandma Rodgers, I recall how much I love her, and how much I love my Grandma Cummings. Both named Rose, ya know...

So thank you, Thanksgiving, for granting me the memories that remind me that our past is a blueprint to our children's future.

Thank you everyone.