Hopping on the Thanks train

I don't know if you've noticed or not, but a lot of folks, especially those of the blogging variety, have been giving thanks over the last week or so. And I don't know how everyone else feels about this, but I like it... a lot!

Some of these thanks probably would've occurred on their own, what with the year that's been and all, but I believe that most of the credit for them should be given to, Trevor (Bump and Run Football Card Blog), and his Give Thanks Challenge, that was proposed last week.

Had this challenge been about anything else, I likely wouldn't have participated, but seeing as how I have much to be thankful for, even if I usually choose not to acknowledge it, I figured I should go ahead and throw a few of them out there.

First and foremost, I'm thankful for my mom. Post teenage years, she has been a very steadying influence on my life, and I'm grateful to her for always being there. Thanks to my prickish ways early in life, we haven't always been as close as we are now, and I regret that, but try not to reflect on it too often, choosing instead to just appreciate where things are now. For all intensive purposes too, she's really the only family I have anymore. I do have two half brothers, but haven't seen, or spoken to, either of them in over 15 years, and honestly can't imagine a scenario where'd I'd do so ever again. And I do have quite a large extended family (aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.) as well, but haven't seen, or spoken to, any of them in over 20 years, and again, can't imagine ever doing so again. I've talked about why that is a few times in the past, so I won't go into it again, but will say that these aren't warm-hearted loving people that I've chosen to stay away from, they're toxic, nothing good ever came from associating with most of them, and I've been much better off by not doing so for the last couple of decades. So, as odd as it may sound to some of you (especially those who come from caring families), I'm thankful that I don't have to associate with the majority of my family. I'm also thankful that I got to spend at least a little bit of time with the couple of good people in the family before their passing (all much too young), it's nice to be able to remember that not all of us were terrible people.

I have had a couple of health issues over the years, and still do have a few, but overall things could be much worse, so I'm very thankful for that. I tend to forget to be thankful about this one on a fairly regular basis, but one only has to go as far as a grocery store to be reminded that there are folks out there dealing with far worse things than I, folks too that are still more positive in their outlook than I as well. I admire them for that, but find it very difficult to emulate. I'm just not wired for sunny disposition, and don't believe in the whole "fake it, 'til you make it" thing. Although it probably wouldn't hurt me to try and be a little more positive in my daily life.

I've mentioned many, many, times here on the blog, that I don't have much of a social life, actually I have no social life. I work alone, and don't have any flesh and blood friends, so blogging is really my only social outlet. My blogging friends are my only friends, and as I always say, are the only reason that I'm still blogging. Despite wanting to be one at an earlier stage in my life, I am not a writer, nor do I enjoy trying to come up with words to fill up a screen. I hate scanning, and I don't like taking pictures. I've even started to grow tired of collecting (again). I know that I should stop blogging, but can't seem to do it, mostly because I love the people that are associated with the blogs too much to do so. I don't think it would be hyperbole if I said that blog people are just better in general than most of society, and I'm very grateful to have been able to interact with so many of them over the last couple of years. And as far as this blog goes, it's far from the best, but it's all I've got, so I'm thankful to those of you who do choose to come around here, you're making me a better person by doing so.

I know that there are many other things to be thankful for, food, shelter... microwaves; but writing this before bed on Wednesday night isn't conducive to me being able to think of all of those things, so I'll just call it a post, I did get the biggies out of the way.

Thanksgiving will be just another day for me, I'm not opposed to the holiday mind you, it's just that since it's only my mom and I, and neither of us wants to go through the effort of cooking an elaborate meal, we just don't do anything, and haven't for quite a number of years. But, and it's a big BUT, I hope that those of you who are celebrating today, have a wonderful day, chock full of memory making moments.

Thanks for taking a moment to look at my page.