To be thankful...

Thanksgiving always provides us a time to step out of our normal stresses and reflect on what we are thankful for. Leading up to and immediately after Thanksgiving I am sure many people blogged about what they were thankful for. I didn't really want to do it during the Thanksgiving week, mainly because, well, everyone else was doing it. Clever huh? But the more I have been thinking about it, and the more I realized I haven't blogged since my first but have been looking for something to talk about, this would be the topic. So, briefly, as not to bore you, here are some things I am thankful for. These are not in order, except for the last one, because it deserves special attention.

I must start this list by saying that I am thankful for God. With him, there is nothing. I do not give him enough credit, but lets be honest, he is amazing. I am thankful everyday for the gifts I have been given, but all too often I forget to tell him.

I am thankful for coffee. It is a passion of mine, and not many days go by that I don't miss being a barista at Starbucks, even though it was my corporate sell out. I also put this first, because it is usually what starts my day, outside of a nice hot shower.

I am thankful for my job. I love working in education. It stresses me out to no end, but I love it. It is a wonderful occupation, and like many of colleagues have said, "its about the kids, its not about you." I hope I can remember this more often, relax some, and not let the stress get to me. I also love coaching football. Football has been apart of my life for as long as I can remember. It was how my dad, brother and I bonded, it has taught me many life lessons and I am thankful that I get to pass on my knowledge to a younger generation. I hope they get the same love and pain from the game that I have. And even though, like education, coaching can be stressful and frustrating, I still love it, even the worst parts of it.

I am thankful for my family and friends. They have influenced and shaped me in so many ways, too many to count. I have a rich and full life because of them. There are too many to name, and if I left anyone out I would be doing someone a major injustice. It is not the names that always carry on, it is the memories and bonds that are shared.

I am thankful for Andy's. It is delicious, and usually when I am eating it, it means a certain couple that we love are in town!

I am thankful for tobacco and scotch. Probably my two major vices. Although I am not addicted to either, when combined, they make a tempting mistress.

There are many other things that make my life rich, but for time, (for it is getting late)  I will wrap this up with the two best things in my life. My wife Kristin and my son Drew. I have been blessed to know Kristin for almost 9 years now. She is an amazing source of comfort, joy and love. I could not have asked for a better person. to share my life with. She is beautiful, she is incredibly smart (much smarter than I am), and much better than I am. I think Kristin shares my sentiment when I say, Drew is the best thing we could ever have hoped for. He is a beautiful boy, who is very smart and dare I say already developing quite a mischievous streak. We love him with all that we have, and even when he does make us frustrated, its impossible to stay frustrated at him (which he gets from his mother). He is cleaver, beautiful and funny, (once again, gets that from his mother).

Needless to say, my life is very full. There are plenty of things I can ask for, but the things that I NEED are all right here. 

Whats a person like you doing in a blog like this...

Why hello there. Welcome to my piece of the blogosphere. I blog. I am a blogger. I blog therefore I am? This is my first attempt at blogging. It's not that I think I am an incredible writer, or that anyone will actually read this except for maybe Manni and Ginnie and my wife, but I love the idea of blogging. Sharing a little piece of yourself for everyone else to drink in. Delicious. I started journaling about a year ago thanks to my wife. It was something that I wanted to do, but lacked the ability to stick with it before. I enjoy writing my thoughts, or working out my problem and what not. This seemed like a fun alternative to writing on pen a paper, you see, I have terrible handwriting which makes writing less fun and almost impossible to really look back on what I wrote. But I don't want this to just be a journal, in fact, I probably don't want it to be an online journal. I hope to make it more full of posting about my life which is very busy and can be amusing from time to time. It will also be a place for social commentary, reflections on life, talking about my jobs and observations of everything else. Needless to say, I don't really know what this will evolve into, I just hope you find it worth your while.