I Am Thankful

With Thanksgiving being later this week, I wanted to take a few minutes to count my blessings.  I hope you all will indulge me.

• I am thankful for my parents, who raised me, taught me right from wrong, taught me the importance of God and faith, took us on annual vacations, paid my way through college (so that I could graduate without any student debt) and who are good grandparents to my kids.
• I am thankful that my parents have a condo in Florida - free lodging near the beach! :)
• I am thankful for my wife, who loves me in spite of my faults and puts up with me on a daily basis.  I'm still not sure what she saw in me but I'm glad she saw it.
• I am thankful for my two terrific kids, who are growing up to be young people with a strong moral compass, who do well in school and who laugh at my stupid jokes and lame songs.
• I am thankful for family and friends near and far who support me with their thoughts, prayers, and kind words, not to mention likes on Facebook and retweets on Twitter.
• I am thankful for my job, which has provided me with a chance to provide for and support my family.
• I am thankful for my recent promotion, which will make the support a little easier and will help me (hopefully) put my kids' through college like my parents did for me.
• I am thankful for my house in a safe neighborhood, where my family and I can be outside and go for walks without fear of being robbed or shot or worse.
• I am thankful for forgiveness and eternal life, the former of which I need frequently and the latter of which I look forward to.
• I am thankful for my health and the health of my family.
• I am thankful for my two dogs, Yadi and Mia, who are a furry, adorable and, yes, sometimes disgusting, part of our family.
• I am thankful for Dr Pepper, the most delicious drink on the planet.
• I am thankful for pizza, which can be served in many different ways, all of which can be mouth watering and wonderful.
• I am thankful for indoor plumbing, air conditioning and heating - I don't know how people survived 200 years ago, especially considering all the layers of clothes they wore.
• I am thankful for the institutions of this country which have so far - and will hopefully continue to - reign in the worst impulses of our current president.
• I am thankful to live in a country where I have the freedom to believe what I want to believe and say what I want to say without fear of being incarcerated or executed.
• I am thankful for satellite radio, one of the best inventions ever - copious amounts of diverse music with no commercials!
• I am thankful for digital music and the ability to create as many playlists as possible.  In the '90s, I was the master of the mixed tape (as my college friends will attest) but it's sooooo much easier nowadays.
• I am thankful for ice cream, frozen custard and frozen yogurt - whether for dessert or just a snack, few things beat those cold treats.
• I am thankful for the myriad of sports that are now televised so that I have the ability to watch most of my teams play most of their games, regardless of where they are or where I am.
• I am thankful for rewards programs which have earned me cash back, coupons, free hotel room nights and lots of free Chick-Fil-A. 
• I am thankful for warm pumpkin pie smothered with whipped cream, a wonderfully delicious dessert, even if my wife thinks it's slimy and disgusting.
• I am thankful for a cozy bed - with a Memory Foam pillow and mattress topper - even if it makes it reeeaaallllyyyy hard to get out of bed in the morning.
• I am thankful for those of you who read my blog posts and thus provide me an outlet for my thoughts, feelings, opinions and occasional sparks of creativity.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!