Thank You!

I had originally started a post bemoaning our headlong, competitive race into the cesspool, and then I changed my mind. Been there, done that. Society doesn’t care. I’ll probably just wait for another year or two until the prudish becomes transgressive counter-culture. Not long now…

Instead I want to do something really prudish and transgressive: say thank you!

Thank you to everyone who remembered our family this Christmas. Be it presents, cards, or little gifts of food on the doorstep, thank you! At my age it increasingly is the thought that counts. You thought of us and took a little time to do something to let us know you thought of us. That means a lot. I appreciate your love and friendship.

Thank you to all my friends who consider me a friend. I’m not the easiest person to stay friends with. I know that. I spend far too much time in my head and not enough time actually being a friend. And yet you’re still here. Thank you.

Thank you to the duct cleaning guy who tried to find out for us why the furnace install people never showed. I’d already tried twice and failed. He finally succeeded, and was properly and suitably embarrassed at his company’s incompetence (they just…forgot to call and tell us they weren’t coming after all).

Thank you to all the people–in school, in church, in activities–who teach my children. Your influence is felt and appreciated.

Thank you to my children for continuing to believe Dad is fun to be with and including me in your activities.

Thank you to my wife for…well, everything! It’s hard to think of an area of my existence where your influence is not felt.

Thank you to my current employer for recognizing and valuing my abilities and providing me a place to bloom and grow, rather than trying to cram me into a cookie-cutter peg-hole.

Thank you to my partners in crime business for helping build something we can be proud of, that I can look back on and say, “Yeah, I had a hand in that!”

Thank you, Mom and Dad, for your example and your sacrifice. I’m sorry it took so long to truly appreciate who you are and what you did for me. I hope I’m living in such a way that you feel it was all worth it.

If you’re reading this–thank you. I like to pretend I write this for myself, but if that were truly the case this blog wouldn’t exist and my journal would be much thicker. There’s at least part of me that is seeking attention and validation. Thank you for providing some.