Thankful

It’s that time of year again, hard to believe, but true. The “holiday season” is upon us!

These past few years have been a non-stop dumpster fire and quite frankly I’ve found it difficult to maintain a positive attitude, not to mention being grateful. But when I stop to think about it, I DO, in fact, have a LOT to be grateful for.

Part of the reason for starting this blog was to help me remember the positive things, to give me something to look back on when things are not going so well. And honestly, it’s worked that way when I needed it. I have focused on maintaining a positive vibe, and have tried very hard to keep this blog from becoming a toxic rant-fest, as that’s where my head has primarily been over the last few years. It hasn’t been easy. I’ve had to stop myself numerous times from spewing angry stuff, calling out both the imbeciles and the grifters, and just straight up bitching about the (many) things that have been getting under my skin. Not that I always succeed, but I always make an effort!

But today, I want to “give thanks”, because when I stop to consider it I am pretty fortunate and have come a long way in the last decade.

First and foremost, I am grateful for The Mrs. We’ve been together for 34 years now and just celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary this year. We’ve been through some really rough times over the past few decades, but we always come through the other side intact, and we’re still best friends. After spending more than 3/5’s of my life with her, I can’t imagine it any other way.

I am thankful for our daughter who has grown into a fine young woman. She’s very responsible and pretty self sufficient, especially compared to her cohorts. She’s never been in any kind of real trouble, she’s helpful and just a pretty nice person. That we share a love of music and soccer doesn’t hurt either!

As much as it drives me bananas, I am thankful for my job. Being healthcare “adjacent” during the “pandemic” took me to the edge both mentally and physically, and it certainly left some scars. But the fact that I didn’t have to worry about a paycheck when it seemed like the whole world was going up in flames was something to be grateful for. And while I can say whole heartedly that I have no love for my job/career, I have learned a TON being here and I’m always grateful for new knowledge. And honestly I’m grateful for my team too. They test me and sometimes aggravate me beyond belief, but overall they are a solid group and when it comes down to it, they will come together and perform amazing things to keep this facility afloat.

I’m thankful that my parents are still around, even though I don’t see them very often. I was very concerned about them during the whole Covid nonsense, and I am very glad that they both came through unscathed. Now, if we could just convince my Pops to retire…

I’m thankful for the friends that are still in my life. They are few and far between, but those guys have been with me a long, long time. Some of us go back to the 1970s, a couple from the early 80’s…my “newest” friend came in to my life in 1990, so yeah I’ve got a lot of years clocked with these gentlemen and I’m grateful for all of them.

I’m thankful for my health. In spite of the fact that I’ve been sick more in 2022 than in the last 10 years combined, I’m grateful that I am still “healthy”, still able to hit the gym and have been able to steer clear of pharmaceuticals into middle-age. No small feat.

Last but not least, I’m grateful for still being able to get out and play music. It’s been feeding my soul when all else seemed misery.

All in all, I have a lot to be thankful for, I just need to remember to remind myself of the fact from time to time.

I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving, good health and serenity!

Thanks for stopping by!