I am thankful....

Not one to be overly optimistic, I may have to dig deep, but I can some things to be thankful for (some easier than others).

I am thankful for:

My beautiful daughter
My wonderful son
A wonderful mother-in-law
Not having to work for that insecure, egotistical piece of shit I had to work for
Having friends on SportsJournalists.com that I can vent to and unload on
My workout bag in the basement that allows me some release
My Cymbalta
The cable and Internet bills being paid
The fact that the Missouri Tigers are actually in the BCS championship picture
Being able to witness such classy athletes as Priest Holmes, Barry Sanders, Julius Erving, Albert Pujols, Mike Sweeney and Craig Biggio in my lifetime
iTunes

 

I am thankful ...

For my wonderful and loving husband, and I hope our marriage lasts for years and years.

... and for all of the blessings I have had this year, from family to friends to work to financial issues to seeing the world, etc. etc. But first and foremost and yet again, for my wonderful and loving husband.

 

i'm thankful that my life is beginning to rule, once again.

 

I'm thankful for my son who'll be joining us on St. Patrick's Day. He's kicking away like a champ, and I can't wait to meet him.

 

Caffeine — Baby Jesus was on his game when he came up with that idea.

Sleep — and boy, do I need it.

Free incoming calls — makes those half-hour chats with Dad a little easier.

Hope — maybe the best of things.

 

I am thankful for all the people I write about on this Web site. The last decade of my life has been much easier because of the cast of characters that highlight the hundreds of stories I enjoy telling so much.

My friends live all over the country, and I haven't seen some of them -- my best friend -- in about a year, but we've been able to keep in touch despite that. And even though I get down sometimes, because I'm physically on my own for the most part, I know they're always there if I need them. I know that no matter what happens, they'll lie, cheat and steal just so I'll be a little bit better off because I'd do the same for them.

And I'm thankful for the home-cooked meal with good people who I hardly know I'll be eating tomorrow. They're nice enough to open up their door to a funny-looking kid from New York who used to sleep with their daughter and sister -- and then fee him. Most of all, I'm thankful I'll be spending the holiday with one of the most important people in my life for as long as I can remember, and it'll be worth being away from my family for the first time in 24 Thanksgivings to do so.

Oh, yeah. I'm also thankful for all of you schmucks out there for keeping me entertained and reading my pointless, boring drivel.

 

I am thankful for:

People who have helped me in this business.
The opportunities I have received in recent months.
Parents who still support my zany decisions.
The ability to have decent health, as far as I know.
Lots of other things, that I'm forgetting to mention here.

 

I am thankful for:

- My wife and her infinite patience and tolerance of my quirks
- The fact I don't have to see the whole family this holiday, but I can call the ones I like and have good conversation
- Some downtime to catch up on things
- Friends and family who I can call on Thanksgiving, pull the "To you it's Thanksgiving, to me it's Thursday," line and have them not only know exactly where that is from, but continue the riff with "You want da bird! Go in the alley and eat da freakin' bird!"
- The holiday of Thanksgiving. All I have to do is show up and eat. Halloween, someone might be wearing some nasty gross-out makeup that makes me not want candy. Christmas, I gotta worry if people like the gifts I got for them. This one? Greatest holiday ever.

 

i'll be thankful the day clarkson gets a boob-job.

 

My oldest, best friend just got an 18K raise. I'm thankful someone saw the value of her work.

My child turns 10 in several weeks. Thankful for that.

The Micro family continues to be employed and comfortably sheltered. Thanks for that.

The extended brothers, sisters, parents, nephews and nieces are healthy and happy. Thankful for that.

I don't have to work tomorrow. Thankful for that.

And if I can be selfish, I'm thankful that I finally got disgusted looking in the mirror in late August and finally got back to eating right and exercising. Have dropped more than 20 pounds since Labor Day, so I'm thankful I can fit into my jeans again now that it's cold enough in Microville to wear them again.

And I'm thankful for the daily entertainment/information this site gives me, thankful that I have a great Secret Santa gift lined up for someone in the service of our country, and thankful that I'll be able to throw some freelance money Johnny D's way next month.


Happy turkey day, all y'all

 

OUTING ALERT: Trooper Bari is Andy Dufresne.