So it's here. The time for us all to sit around and tell each other why we're thankful for something. This is a completely foreign tradition to me. We never did this in my family. I don't know why, we just didn't. We did it at school (wow, take that sentence out of context and I may be in some trouble). But at the homestead, not my family's cup of tea. And I thank them for that. I have never been the warm and fuzzy kind of family guy. We were more like a G rated, less offensive version of the Family Guy's Griffin Family (My mom is cursing my name right now for writing that. I'm sure of it). But we certainly were no Keaton Family. Not that we were dysfunctional, we just didn't get all cozy with each other. There was of course the constant fighting, bickering, hair pulling, ball kicking, knife chasing fun that any family of four (3 boys) experiences.

We did try the warm and fuzzy go around in a circle thing once, when I was maybe 8 or 10 or something. This was at christmas time though and it was somehow related to a school project for my sister M. It went like this (if I remember correctly. which I often don't); we had to go around in a circle and say something we liked about every other family member. All was going fine as the complements spun around the circle until the dart landed on me. (Now let me just preface this with telling you that I was a bit of a drama king as a child.) So the time came for M to say something nice about me, her littlest bro. "I like how Nate can always get whatever he wants just by crying for it". Me "Waaaaaaaa, Waaaaaaaaa" as I ran down the hall and buried my face in my pillow for the rest of the night.

I think that may have something to do with why we never did the whole and I am thankful for_____bit. I have a feeling it would have ended with me crying. Or kicking one of my brothers in the balls. Or crying. Probably crying, I only kicked when my parents weren't around.

Surprisingly I have great relationships with all my siblings now (at least I think so). With some of the havoc I wreaked on them as a kid it surprises me some days that they even still consider me their brother. And for that I'm thankful. Very thankful.

Other things in life I am thankful for include but are not limited to: The rest of my Family. I have a beautiful wife who tolerates living with a prepubescent teen stuck in a young adults body. I have  a kick ass freaking son who is like the absolute coolest most rad little dude that ever didn't walk or crawl yet. I have a set of wonderful (and still married) parents that have come to accept me for the crazy ass weird kid that I am. I already mentioned the siblings. I have two dope ass dogs that are cooler than most humans, two cats, one that's a total prick and one that's the prissiest little pussy you ever met, but I love them anyway. And great friends, a roof over my head, my health, my ability to grow a beard to hide my acne and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting to mention and will get shit for later.

And then there are these things for which I am also thankful:

∞ Getting up and out of the house on the weekends in less than two hours

∞ Not stepping in or seeing cat puke early in the morning

∞ Strong ass black coffee from a reputable roaster

∞ Ale

∞ Above mentioned ale being stocked in my fridge

∞ Apple products

∞ My music collection

∞ Not having to haul around CD's anymore (thank you above mentioned Apple products)

∞ Alarms that forget to go off

∞ White out

∞ A 3G network at work where my internet is restricted by Barracuda

∞ Days when there is no laundry to do/fold (which is almost never)

∞ Sunglasses

∞ Fully intact wrists (which I only have one of)

∞ Daylight savings

∞ Fresh caught fish

∞ My camera

∞ Dark jeans (thank you for only needing to be washed every two weeks)

∞ Deodorant that works

∞ Fresh eggs

∞ California wines

∞ Seat warmers

&

∞ A sock drawer with no plain white socks

Happy Turkey Day!

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