What I'm Thankful For

It's difficult for me to write a post like this. Not because I have a hard time finding things that I'm thankful for; quite the opposite, actually. I have a loving family, a roof over my head and a job that pays my bills and leaves me with a little left over each month. No, the hard part is to write about what what I'm thankful for in great detail because there are so many things that I can say.

To start off, I am thankful for my family. My mother, step-father, grandfather, sister, aunts, uncles, cousins... The whole nine yards. They are amazing people whose influence have allowed me to develop into the person that I am today. Without my family, I wouldn't know how to live, how to love, or how to be myself.

I'm thankful to have had an amazing father that worked to make sure my sister and I didn't want for anything. Even though he couldn't give us everything, he gave us enough. He taught us the value of hard work and instilled in us how great a sense of accomplishment feels. Unfortunately, my father is no longer with us so I'm not able to express my gratitude to him but I hope that if he were still here, he'd be proud.

Lastly, I'm thankful for my wonderful wife, Lauren. Our relationship hasn't always been peaches and cream but she's stuck by my side through all of it for the last eight years. When I left one job to chase down one of those "Be your own boss in five weeks" scams, she didn't call me an idiot; she held my hand, told me "If you believe you can do it, then do it" and didn't say "I told you so" when I quit after three weeks. She was there for me when I lost my father, giving me a shoulder to cry on throughout the entire ordeal. When my financial trouble got so overwhelming that my only option left was bankruptcy, she didn't judge me. She had plenty of opportunities to leave and find someone that could support her but she didn't.

And because of that, I could never give thanks enough.

She's also cute as a button.

This year is an important one for us as it's our first Thanksgiving being married. My wife is one of the best things that's ever happened to me. She's my happiness and my relaxation and the reason I do what I do.

So, to my wife, Lauren... I love you, pumpkin, and I'm excited to face our life together.