I'm thankful my parents tell me they love me every single day. I'm thankful my parents have never given up on me. I'm thankful my parents disciplined me from a young age, that I grew up knowing what "tough love" was. I'm thankful I've always had support from my parents in all my endeavors because they're people out there who have never met their parents, who lost them at an early age or who weren't lucky enough to have them around like I have.
I'm thankful I have a gorgeous sister. I'm thankful she's a beautiful person, both inside and out. I'm thankful she's smart and willing to help a simple guy like myself when I have a brain fart. I'm thankful she could be thousands of miles away but still check up on me whenever possible just to make sure I'm okay because there's some people who don't feel they have anyone they can talk to.
I'm thankful there's always bacon in my house. I'm thankful I have a job that can afford me aforementioned bacon. I'm thankful I can help cook a filling meal tomorrow with my family and I'm thankful that if we somehow lost everything we owned tonight that there's soup kitchens around that would do their best to fill our bellies and help remind us how there's always hope.
I'm thankful I have a car that can get me from point A to point B. I'm thankful the heat works in the winter and the A/C in the summer. I'm thankful I drove a purple 1998 Ford Windstar minivan that had no rear view mirror in high school so that I learned to appreciate the finer things in life instead of being high-maintenance.
I'm thankful I'm healthy. I'm thankful I never let booze and drugs overtake my life. I'm thankful I partied but learned that there's hundreds of thousands of other ways to have fun without having to be fucked up on a consistent basis. I'm thankful I learned good nutrition. I'm thankful I appreciate my body and what it looks like. I thankful I have no shame in walking around naked.
I'm thankful I have quality friends. I'm thankful I can be their "Dr. Phil" when they need someone to vent to. I'm thankful I have friends who will drop whatever they are doing at a moment's notice to be there if I'm in trouble. I'm thankful I have guy friends who I consider brothers and female friends who I consider to be as close as little sisters. I'm thankful I realize family doesn't always mean blood related. I'm thankful I've learned the difference between hearing someone talk and listening to someone.
I'm thankful I find ways to laugh and smile each and every day. I'm thankful to realize there's no such thing as bad days, only bad moments. I'm thankful I've learned to appreciate those bad moments and painful situations for the lessons they can teach us. I'm thankful I can find the beauty in each and every day.
I'm thankful I've learned to live with my heart on my sleeve. I'm thankful I've learned to take chances with love. I'm thankful I've been treated like shit before because it's taught me what I deserve and to never settle. I'm thankful I realize that beauty is only skin deep.
I'm thankful there's still women out there who don't put out on the first date. I'm thankful I've learned that there's a big difference between having sex with someone and making love to them. I'm thankful there's still women out there who appreciate men who are gentlemen. I'm thankful there's still women who expect men to act with chivalry. I'm thankful there's still women who realize chivalry doesn't just mean being bought.
I'm thankful there are men out there who choose to challenge the status quo. I'm thankful some of us who still open doors, who aren't scared of trying yoga, who can bake a mean sweet potato pie and who can still lay a mean hit on someone in a pickup football game. I'm thankful there's some of us out there who don't automatically label things as "gay" or "stupid" just because they're different. I'm thankful there's some of us who challenge ourselves to the renaissance man lifestyle.
I'm thankful I know my strength, and not just in the physical sense. I'm thankful I've learned the power of words and to choose them wisely. I'm thankful I've learned how big such a small gesture as offering a helping hand can be. I'm thankful I've learned to let go of the things weighing me down. I'm thankful I've learned men can still shed tears and be emotional. I'm thankful I've learned that it doesn't matter how many times you fall as long as you find the will to stand back up.
I'm thankful I've learned to truly appreciate the holidays and to not just look at them as a day to eat lots of food or stand in line for hours in order to buy cheap toys and gifts. I've thankful I could lose every possession I own today but still be happy knowing there's still so much I have. I'm thankful I've learned what Thoreau meant by, "... drive life into a corner, and rude it to its lowest terms". I'm thankful I've learned to keep everything in life simple. I'm thankful I've made my life my Walden.
