The Time To Be Thankful

It’s November. The cold weather is upon us, the leaves have turned and fallen from the trees, and it’s the time of year when we all give thanks for what we’ve been blessed with. Sometimes it’s not just what we have, but what we don’t have as well.

I’m thankful for my wife and kids. Even though our lives become topsy turvy because everyone is on their own schedule or everyone has a different opinion about things, somehow we manage to keep it all together through thick and thin.

I’m thankful for my daughter’s dog, Coco. Whether anybody realizes it or not, she’s helped keep my stress level in check. For years, I kept the kids from having a pet in the house because I didn’t want them to go through all the sadness I went through when I was a kid and the pets my family had eventually passed. If I knew how much a pet would positively affect me earlier than I did, I would have gotten one a long time ago. I didn’t, but as fate would have it, we wound up with Coco because we waited. I wouldn’t trade her for the world.

I’m thankful for financial aid. If it weren’t for that, my son and daughter wouldn’t be kicking butt at their respective colleges . . . so proud of them both.

I’m thankful that my van’s heads blew. Yes, I’m thankful for that. Because of it, I donated it to the Make A Wish Foundation and now drive my son’s car, all the while saving on insurance, gas, and maintenance. We make do.

I’m thankful for the Jersey Shore. I was born here and raised here my entire life. I can honestly tell you that I never want to leave here. Maybe as I get older and the colder seasons affect me more than they do now, I’ll acquiesce and head down someplace warm for a period of time each year, but I will never fully leave the place where it all started for me. That’s the Jersey Shore mystique for you.

I’m thankful for my extended family. My parents still tend to play devil’s advocate at times, and even though I keep thinking that they’ll stop doing that eventually, I’m thankful that they haven’t. And to all the other members of my family. . .I lost my first grandparent when I was 34 years old, and the last one at 46. I don’t think there are too many people around who can make a claim like that. I was able to appreciate them for a very long time.

My two younger brothers, my sisters-in-law, my cousins, aunts, uncles, my wife’s entire side of the family. . .I’ve taken away something from each of them that’s made me who I am today.

I’m thankful I can dance. Yes, dance!

I’m thankful for my friends, both physical and virtual. They run the gamut from near-homeless to captains of industry, but they give me great joy and have always been there for me whenever I needed them for support.

I’m thankful that I understand technology and can blog. How else would I be able to convey my thanks to all of you out there for reading what I write?

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

(The entire Jersey Shore Retro Blogography can be found at http://longbranch.patch.com/blogs/kevin-cieris-blog .You can also follow Kevin Cieri's blog on his Facebook page, "Jersey Shore Retro" as well as on Twitter @jsretro).