Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Things I am thankful for.


I was all set to do a really snarky anti-conservative post today when I realized that tomorrow is Thanksgiving.  Since I will be giving myself a nice, long weekend to celebrate, I figured that I should go out on something a little more upbeat and positive and save the conservative bashing for when I come back next week. (winky face - hi Kristin!)  So, here are some things that I am thankful for...


My Wife - Shannon is my best friend and partner in crime and we've been together for more of our lives than we've been apart.  We have always had a sort of non-traditional relationship, we were together for 17 years before finally getting married.  At a point when most people are getting sick of each other, we decided to actually make our bond stronger by putting some paper in the whole deal.  She means everything to me, I wouldn't be where I am today without her.  We've struggled and had some hard times and faced some pretty rough challenges in life together, but knowing that she's by my side makes whatever life throws at us seem like just a bump in the road.

My Friends - My friends are my extended family, except I actually look forward to spending time with them.  (KIDDING! as far as you know!I have the best friends in the world and they are a very special and important part of my life.  I have friends I can laugh with, friends I can cry to, friends who will help me hide the bodies, friends who will get me drunk, friends who will help me get sober again, friends who will always have a couch for me to crash on if I need it and friends who I will never pass out around in my life if I know what's good for me.  I've lost some good friends and I still think about them every day and miss them, but I've gained some new friends as well and I am truly thankful for everyone who comes into my life, looks around and likes what they see and decide to hang out for a while.

My Family - Ok, so I actually do love my family, like... well... family I suppose.  Honestly, if my family was completely normal and not the least bit completely nuts, I wouldn't have half the sense of humor I have today, I'm sure of it.  I mean really, how could anyone grow up around my family and not be able to make a joke about anything and laugh when you feel like crying?  I love these guys, I really do, but these people are crazy!  The best part is, anyone in my family who's reading this right now probably thinks "Yeah, there sure are some nutty people in our family..."  Surprise, YOU'RE ONE OF THEM!  My family tree is all nuts with like maybe one branch and that just got there because it fell off the tree next to it.  I say this fully including myself in that bushel of nuts.  Tomorrow, I'm going to continue a lifelong tradition of having Thanksgiving with my grandma Fountinelle, something I have done so many Thanksgivings in a row that I don't remember ever not doing it.  My family is pretty special and important to me, even when they're driving me crazy.

My Dogs - We don't have kids, so our dogs are our babies.  Yes, some people get annoyed at statements like that, but they can kiss my ass.  At least I don't bring my dogs to a restaurant when they're too young to be out somewhere like that and inflict their incessant crying on everyone around them just trying to enjoy their overpriced steak dinner.  Oh, and stop with the "You'll never be happier than when you hold your child".  So then why are you always looking for a sitter to dump the bastards off on so you can finally have a night out with friends and enjoy yourself?  That's cool, just give me a couple of loyal dogs and a back yard big enough for them to run around in while we take off for a weekend at the coast without having to make plans 4 months in advance, I'm good!  Seriously though, I love my friend's kids - mostly because they're not mine.  This is about our dogs though and we have the best, sweetest and cutest dogs ever.  We got Ivy from the shelter, she's a Dachshund mix that kind of looks like a miniature Golden Retriever and she's adorable except when she rubs her butt on the ground, but I guess every dog has it's peccadilloes.  Next, we got Jack from a backyard breeder.  He's a miniature Dachshund and he's my buddy.  He sleeps around my legs every night and his favorite place to sit is on my belly while I watch tv.  Unfortunately for him, I'm rapidly shrinking his favorite seat, so he might have to start picking out a spot on my lap to move to soon.  Lastly, we got Dixie from a friend of ours and she's been such a wonderful addition to the family.  She's a piebald Dachshund and she absolutely loves Jack.  The two of them sit on the couch and give each other kisses, literally for hours on end.  They're the best dogs and I love my buddies.  Also, it's kind of sad that the dogs got the longest paragraph out of everyone I'm thankful for, but whatever, I'm a dog lover.

My Brain - This isn't as egotistical as it sounds, at least I don't think it is...  I am thankful for the mind that I was blessed with, to take in all the things that I have experienced and learned in my life and process them in the way I have.  I am thankful that when I had it rough as a kid, my brain caused me to turn pain into comedy and find the funny side of some pretty horrible stuff.  I am thankful that learning has always come easy for me and that my mind craves knowledge and constantly challenging myself.  I am thankful that I look at things the way I do, that I have the beliefs I hold, that I am quick on my feet, witty and that I have a big vocabulary.  I'm thankful to be blessed with a talent for writing, even if it's mediocre at best.  I'm thankful for the dreams I dream and the goals I set for myself.  I am thankful that I have musical talent and artistic creativity.  Again, I don't care if I'm the best at it, I'm just thankful that I'm any good at all.  I'm thankful that the stuff that tumbles around up there in my head sometimes impresses people and gives them cause to believe in me and my potential.  I'm thankful again for my family and friends who encourage my madness and praise my accomplishments, my brain thanks you.


Lastly, I'm thankful for everyone who took the time to read this.  I'm already getting close to the 1-year anniversary of the day I first started this blog, it will be here in just a few short months.  When I first started, I remember being so stoked when my page broke 10 views a day - not counting my own.  Today, over 200 people view my blog every day.  Sure, that's not a lot compared to most successful blogs out there, but it's more than I imagined I'd ever have way back when I first decided to post whatever random thoughts were in my head at the time.  I'm grateful to have an outlet for my creativity and a place to express my personal opinions.  I'm grateful for my fans and for the people who post to trash me and my opinions, because you're all taking the time to read what I took the time to write and I appreciate that so much.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody, I'll be back on Monday.

3 comments: