Closing Out 2020 With Thankfulness

Hello, it's Christmas Eve morning and I felt like jotting down a few things. The past year has been wild and seemingly without a lot to celebrate. Alas, I am here to cheer you up (or at least try to make your thoughts a little less grim)! The things to celebrate, are probably closer to "real" than the things we usually point to. They are a bit deeper and more in touch with our humanity. I'm not going to tell you there haven't been a lot of downs and reasons to be out of sorts, but so often the negative dominates the positive. We dislike and fear that feeling, so when it permeates our routines, we forget to see the positives that are still around us.

If you are reading this, you are still here and "survived". For 95% of the people on earth, I'm sure still breathing is decent enough, seeing how the alternative holds permanence....as far as we know. I am thankful to still be here and able to enjoy every day, even if it's in a small way. Enjoying a laugh. Sharing a hug. Listening to someone tell you how excited they are about something or another. Having a good slice of pizza or a two finger pour of a favorite bourbon. I like to be able to sit and clear my mind every day, which is a luxury all of us can give ourselves, even if only for a few minutes.

Take the time to put the negative aside and think on those things we often overlook and take for granted. I have much more to be happy about or thankful for than I realize and some of those things should loom large in my life and this is a reminder to myself to allow it. 

I am thankful for my family and the time we have spent in the past year together, even when we may have picked at each other or been frustrated at the circumstances. Having extra time and really, just being in proximity of my children as they grow up is a blessing in itself. More than I deserve! The love I have for my wife is immeasurable and she definitely makes my life "work". My love is best expressed to and through my "girls". I'm thankful that my mom has apparently kept the cancer away and is doing well and that my wife's mother and father, while having some health issues, are still doing well enough to keep on keeping on! 

I am thankful that I work for a company that didn't gut itself by laying off employees to take advantage of the down turn of the pandemic. I am very thankful for the handful of friends that are as much family to me as anyone I share blood with. I love 'em. I got to continue to see one of my oldest and closest friends fairly regularly during the year. We helped each other through commiseration and laughter. I have also seen my other friends, not as frequently, but enough to know our bonds are strong. We used technology to get together and when we felt we could, we spent time in each others presence. We continued "Director Day", doing so over Zoom for one of our dates. We "gifted" each other throughout the year, knowing we are still on each others minds. 

My life is going about as well as can be expected, given my age and health. I don't have much of a quarrel with how things are personally. I know there are a lot of people out there hurting, some worse than others. Those are people I feel for. My family tries to be charitable within our means and I know a lot of people do the same. That makes the world a little better....to know that we can rely on each other and if we put our egos aside and take into consideration that no matter what hardship we may face, the person we don't know, that we encounter on a daily basis, may have it even tougher. Showing kindness and patience is a great gift to give everyone we run into day in and day out. Don't give it because they "deserve" or "earn" it....but give it because of who you are. That's a gift you can give for free.

Since I don't post as often as I used to, I don't suppose I'll have anything to say before the New Year rings in. I hope that anyone reading this is doing OK and the people on planet Earth get a little better shake moving forward. 

As a man, much wiser than myself once said; 

"....but remember brothers and sisters, you can still stand tall. 

Just be thankful, for what you got."

--William DeVaughn--