1. My life. God blessed me enough to allow me to wake up this morning. Yes, it's not always great. Yes, there is strife. Yes, there are times when it just sucks. That doesn't mean that I hate my life. I've had a great life overall. I have a place to live. I have a job which has had its ups and downs, but everyone goes through that (I've got to work on Thanksgiving Day and the day after). I have money to buy food and clothing. I have a SUV which gets me where I want/need to go. What more should a person want?
2. My wife. She's the best. God has blessed me and I'm very lucky to have the wife that I have. For those who don't know, my wife was born and raised in the Philippines. God was kind enough to lead me to her. At times I think about all the decisions that I had made prior to meeting her for the first time and it makes my head swim as I think had I not joined the Navy, had I not gone to Japan (because I had to opportunity to go to the Philippines, but in doing so I would have never met her because I would have never gone where she lived), had I not gone to her sister's specifically to me her for the first time Thanksgiving 1993. She really takes good care of me. We've been living apart for the past year and a half, yet she's still willing to be with me. She lives in Jacksonville, Florida taking care of our house while I'm in Picayune, Mississippi on my last tour of duty. It's about a 10 hour drive one way for me to go see her, so I don't go that much. I go about once every 5 weeks or so. There has been a few times when it has been two months, but again she is willing to stay with me even though we don't get to see that much of each other.
3. Our family; both mine and my wife's.
God has blessed me with a family that has and continues to take really good care of me. Most of you know about my family, but not all. When I was one year old, I was adopted by a family that looks nothing like me. My mom is Irish and my dad is German. Made my life interesting at times when I was little. This was in 1971, so I was adopted by a family who was able to look past the color of my skin which was a big deal back then. My dad's sister was able to do the same and that cousin had done the same. So I come from a family that is more racially tolerant than some and had taught me by example to look beyond the cover of a book to see what's inside.
God has also blessed me with in-laws that have and continue to take good care of me. Not all of us like our in-laws. The continual joke for the husband is to hate at least the mother-in-law if no other member of the wife's family. I could never hate any of her family (well, at least most of her family because ALL families have that one part that no one likes, they only tolerate at best). I married the baby of the family of 9. Since I met them prior to getting married to my wife, they have and continue to treat me like one of the family. I love and miss them all very much.
4. My friends. God has blessed me with people who I am proud to say are my friends. They are good people who allow me to be me. They don't expect me to be anything else. They don't try to change me into someone they like. But that's why they are my friends.
Again, Happy Thanksgiving to all and please take time out to be thankful for what you have and think of those who will not be with their family this year.
