After the other day’s post, I feel I should redeem myself a little and speak to things that I actually am thankful for in life. As much as I’ve attempted to make myself a hermit as much as I can when I’m not working, I really do have some redeeming qualities, I think. I hope. I guess I should just let you all judge.
I’m thankful for my wife and stepson. I’m so close to them that I hesitate to call him my stepson. My world revolves around them, and they are the only family I have close. My wife does all the wifely things exceptionally well, and she’s in her element at Thanksgiving. We will eat like kings and emperors today. And tomorrow, and the day after that.
I’m also thankful for my God-given ability to get and keep a decent job. I’m nothing special, but I’ve done very well for myself in sales, and paraphrasing Kevin Smith, my success is proof of a divine being. Everything I have is due to the fact that I can make a decent living for myself that allows me to have hobbies and “things”. Why I have a goal to walk away from that and write for a living should tell you something about my state of mind and my hold on sanity.
I’m thankful for my pets. I have way too many, and they are a burden at times (like anytime my wife and I want to go on a date) but they bring me intense joy the rest of the time. I have dogs and cats, and while the dogs are great because when you have a bad day, your dog doesn’t care, he’s just happy to see you and get some attention, the cats, for me, are more important because you don’t get that unconditional love from a cat like you do from a dog. You can kick a dog, and it will crawl back to you with a look on its face like, “I’m sorry, what did I do?” You can’t do that to a cat. A cat will choose you, and choose when it wants something from you. It can be surreal living with cats, especially seven of them, but if I sit on the couch and put my legs up, I can be sure at least two will try to cuddle up with me. It’s a nice feeling and they don’t give their love freely or often. For instance, one of the younger cats, who isn’t really all that cuddly yet, came up to me, meowed sweetly and jumped up into my lap for some attention. I stopped what I was doing and spent 5 minutes petting her. She has never jumped up on my lap before.
I’m finally thankful that I was born in this country. We take a lot for granted, and it’s easy to get angry with the way things are going in the country right now. Regardless of what side you’re on, you’re not happy with the way things are going. But compared to 99% of the world, we have it made. We don’t know real poverty, we are generally exceptionally safe. I for one, am very thankful I was born here and am able to live out my life the way I choose.
The Naive Romantic 