Happy Thanksgiving!

Just a quick note to remind myself, and all of you, how fortunate we are. I know it's almost become cliche to post/email/text message a generic "we have so much to be thankful" message, and it's usually grandiose, how great our lives are compared to the rest of the universe, how thankful we are for our soldiers, etc.

Now don't for a second get me wrong. I agree very much with most of the "stock" commentary. There isn't a week that goes by where I don't think about our forces overseas in danger, or that I hear about children in poverty in a 3rd world country, and I am thankful for what I have. But to me it misses the point. It's easy to say how thankful you are for those kinds of things. You damn well better be.

What about the little, mundane things? Or the things we appreciate for a time, but then quickly forget? Or the ones that we really, really appreciate, but don't always remember just exactly how much?

My 85 year old grandmother gave me a photo album a few years ago- with photos from my childhood, as well as some of my dad and grandfather when they were young men. I scanned all of them just in case something ever happened to the album, and came across them on the computer the other day.

I had pushed it to the back of my mind, almost forgot about them. But I will likely run across them every year or two for the rest of my life. Generations of my family will have the chance to see them. That means a lot.

April and I were able to run in a 5k race Thanksgiving morning- it raises money for a local charity. I am lucky to be able to help, and not need to be the one in need. I am thankful that I can help others.

So many of you, friends and family alike, mean a tremendous amount to me, and to April. Our wealth of people that care for us is so very deep, and for that I am thankful. But if all of you turned your back on me today, I am thankful that April would still be at my side.

Now don't get me wrong- in private she would use any means necessary (really, anything...) to figure out what I managed to do to turn all of our friends and family away, and make me fix it, but she would absolutely stick by me.

For that I am thankful.

Now all of you need to stop and really, truthfully, take a hard look at the person in your life who fills that role for you. Here's a hint- you would walk through hell with them and share your canteen. Probably give them the last swallow.

Do they really know how much you value them?

Time to make sure...