A World of Thanks for a Year to Remember

Turkey Day is upon us and I sit here reflecting on what I feel has been one of the best years of my life. I am purposefully restricting myself as I write this because the list of people to which and for which I am thankful is so long, if left unchecked this blog can easily go 10k words long.

As I look through my calendar for the year, I see it is chock full of events and moments that continue to fill my life with smiles and beautiful memories. It is also a reminder of everything for which I am thankful and why I feel so incredibly blessed. I mentally recapped these events, and I cannot properly describe how special each moment was and how alive each memory continues to be. To say I am surrounded by people I love is a gross understatement. In addition to my biological family, I hold dearly the relationships that transcend the normal boundaries of friendship and create bonds of family as strong as those I have with my relatives.

I am thankful for the creative opportunities that were presented to me this year, and for the world of support I've received as I tackled these new endeavors. (Thanks, JT)

I am thankful for a renewed sense of spiritual direction. My faith and belief in God has never wavered, but my feeling of belonging and sense of community was dead and gone. I found that again this year, and I am so thrilled I get to share it with such a supportive community of people. (Thanks, Kurt)

I continue to be thankful for my beautiful children who are such a blessing and terrifically great kids. They may be hard to handle from time to time, but that is really the rare exception to the rule.

I am thankful to my mother and my new mother-in-law. They continue to provide me with guidance and unwavering support in all I do, and I am so fortunate to have what is, in essence, a never ending source of love.

Most importantly, I am thankful for Lee, my saving grace, biggest fan, best friend and, I am proud to say, my wife. We both traveled broken roads to find each other, and in coming together as one, we've created something special and magical that will forever be greater than the two of us. It's with eager anticipation that I look forward to the rest of my life with Lee. It is a life I will not spend with her, but rather share with her.

I keep replaying the events of this past year and there are so many individuals that come to mind who shared in the various moments. I want you to know how thankful and appreciative I am for your friendship, love and support. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Finally, I say a prayer for the many individuals who will be alone this Thanksgiving Day. I feel for them and their loneliness, and I pray they find some solace on a day that is meant to be spent surrounded by those you love. I pray God's grace gives them the strength to endure and reminds them that even they may feel all alone, they really never are.