What I am Thankful For

It is that time of year where we all stop and reflect what we are thankful for. I am sure that as I list what I am thankful for you will be able to relate but I am also sure there will be things which surprise and/ or shock you.

I am thankful for things that most of you are also thankful for, like:

1.) My children. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with them. as I watch them grow I see that they need me less and less, but that our relationship has grown closer over this past year. As I watch them become more independent and watch their personalities develop I realize that they have so much to give those around them that i must have done something right, or more likely that they are touched by the divine and he is guiding them.

2.) My health: I am so thankful that I have not had anything serious affect me this past year. In fact I have lost 40 lbs and have kept it off. I feel better physically but mostly I feel emotionally and I have the energy I need to take care of the responsibilities that I gained this past year.

3.) My faith: I am so thankful for my beliefs because without them I wouldn't have made it through the struggles of the past year. It was always comforting to know that I was loved by Heavenly father when I felt that the toils and struggles of life were more than I could bear.

Now for things I am grateful for that many of you may not know:

4.) Caroline: I am very grateful to her being my friend. It was she who let me lean on her shoulder when I needed to talk, who let me vent when I needed it. But mostly I am grateful to her for making me see that I needed to take better care of myself and to make changes in my life for the better. I can never repay her for her kindness or even start to thank her enough for making me what I am today.

5.) Bill Gates: I bet this is surprising. But I am thankful to Mr. Gates for the vision he had when he started Microsoft. Without his vision and desire to make computer programming as user friendly as possible I wouldn't be able to lead the life I do and making it easier for me to provide for those in my life.

6.) US Military: I am so thankful that they are out there protecting my rights to be able to express myself. I remember the sacrifices I made when I was in the Army and so those who spend this holiday away from loved ones and in harms way, May God Bless you and keep you in in arms this day.

7.) Randy: I am so thankful that she is still with us. I am grateful that I don't have to spend Thanksgiving with the kids without their mother. I am thankful that the kids get to spend one more holiday with their mother and build more memories.

8.) Being a Grandfather: My oldest son and his wife are expecting a child in April. I am thankeful that I will be able to have grandchild and next year at this time I may be able to hold my grandchild during this holiday and be grateful and blessed to extend my family.

As I close this post, I hope those of you who read this blog, will take a little time and ponder what you are thankful for this. I bet it you seriously contimplate what you are thankful for, you to will come up with things that seem strange. My last thought is to leace each of you with this.

TO YOU AND YOURS, HAVE A VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Feeling Frustrated

I am working from home today and for those of you who don't know, my ex-wife has been diagnosed with terminal cancer of the spinal fluid. I moved out of my apartment and had to move back into the house I owned before. But with Jenna in college, I am able to work one day a week from home to ensure that someone is able to keep an eye on my ex-wife, Randy.

Well, since she has gotten up today she has been making my life a living nightmare. It is can you pick up Olivia at school. She was found to have nits and the school determined it was caught from kids at school. Then it was go to the drug store for the treatment, take Olivia back to school. Go to the post office and mail a package for Randy. As soon as I get back and start to work again, its "Can you fix the dryer? The exhaust hose came off." i said I would, but that wasn't fast enough. "Its 82 in here and I can't stand it!" It is about this time, I lose my cool and say in a loud voice. "As soon as I finish this work task!" so I fix the problem, takes all of 5 minutes, but now I am getting the cold shoulder because I raised my voice.

I really don't know what to do. She is acting like we are a married couple and we are not. This attitude of hers of when I ask for something I want done now attitude was one of the reasons we got divorced. i am able to work at home, because I usually get more done at home than I do at work, because there are less interruptions. But not today. I have barely accomplished anything. I have two basketball games to officiate tonight, so it looks like a late night.

I have quite a bit on my mind and I really didn't get much sleep as i went to bed about 11:30 pm and i woke up around 3:00 AM. I laid on the couch till 5:30 AM and maybe fell asleep for an hour or so. Looks like tomorrow is really going to suck. My question to you is Do I have a right to be frustrated at Randy because I am not accomplishing what I want to today? or should i just overlook her demands because of her illness? But another part of my brain wonders Is she playing this illness up for all its worth? And finally, if wasn't for the kids would I even put up with all of this?

What My Blog is About

I wanted a place where I could write about the issues that are affecting me on that day. There is no way of knowing what that will be from day to day. I hope that, you who read it, will leave me replies that initiate a wonderful discussion between us. Feel free to disagree with me, but please do so with an intelligent argument.
Part of the reason I wanted to start a blog was to carry on meaningful dialog with my readers and to stimulate intellectual thoughts for them as well as me. I am sure there will be times when I ask you, my readers, for advice on a situation that I am struggling with. I also hope that you will come to trust what I say and ask me for advice.
I look forwad to writing on this blog and I am excited and a little apprehensive as to the replies I receive from my readers. I know there will topics I write about will not stimulate any of you, but there will be topics that drive you nuts. Lets experience this together.