A very Happy Thanksgiving to all!!
I woke up this morning a little before 5 AM. Taylor was snoring, happily playing fields of green in dreamland. I stretched my body, feeling every bit of everything I could feel. I felt my toes, my calves, my knees, my thighs, my butt, my lower back and up my spine, my stomach, my chest, my shoulders, my biceps and my forearms, my fingers, my neck, my face. I took a deep breath, and let love and thankfulness wash all over me.
It felt good.
It felt really good.
I had Christmas music playing in the background. (I always have Christmas music playing in the background.)
I called my folks. I called my auntie.
Taylor is still snoring while the sun rises, a welcoming array of colours wishing the night goodbye
Before long, we are on a hike in the Marin Headlands again. We are thankful for a great many things today.
We are thankful for having the opportunity to be thankful. One of my first bosses used to say, “any day above ground is a good day for me.” I take that quip to heart, knowing that the day is not promised, but rather a gift. A gift to be lived and loved, to take every precious moment and live it the most we could possibly live it. It sounds so cliche, but it’s one of those cliches that I love. I actually think about things like this. It helps me focus on those things that are important.
Halfway up our hike, we find the ground covered with a thin, white blanket of frost, and of all things that could, its icy sheen is what reminds me of my Midwestern roots the most. I think upon all those Thanksgivings of past, back when the holiday was so new to us and forward to when it became a tradition for our family like it was for any family in the States. I miss my family at this very moment. I shake those thoughts quickly, excited instead for many of us to get together over Christmas.
So what am I thankful for? I’m thankful for everything. Literally everything. I’m thankful for my life, something I no longer take for granted. I’m thankful for my health, something I’m so conscious of these days, and a focus of mine this decade of my life. I’m thankful for my hiking shoes, that enable two tired feet to walk every morning and every evening with my dog, my trusty companion. I’m thankful for my family and my friends, most of whom I’ve been fortunate to see and spend quality time with this year, some planned, others just sneaking in moments. I’m thankful for my niece Bea and nephew August and my new nephew Jorryn, all the lights of our collective lives.
I am thankful for my dog. Taylor literally is by my side through everything. I cannot think of my life without him, now over five years of his life with me. At nine years old, he’s still thankfully very healthy, leaner and stronger today than he was when we first moved to Northern California.
I am thankful for 2015, not yet done. I’m thankful my visits to Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and Koh Samed at the beginning of this year in Thailand. I’m thankful for my visits up and down the California coast all throughout the year. I’m thankful for my visits to Chicago, Indianapolis and parts of New Jersey for weddings and good times with those that I love. I’m thankful for those that have come to visit me in the Bay Area. I’m thankful that I am so near to some of the most beautiful spots on the planet, visiting Napa and Sonoma, Point Reyes, Half Moon Bay, not to mention San Francisco, Tiburon and where I live in Sausalito. I’m thankful for the many sunrises and sunsets I’ve been blessed to see.
I’m thankful for an amazing baseball season, one that saw the Chicago Cubs come back to prominence, its future so bright. I’m thankful for seeing them for three games in August in San Francisco. I’m thankful for Notre Dame (fingers crossed), in the thick of the NCAA playoff race. I’m having a tough time with this year’s edition of the 49ers, but thankful for the many years of great teams and great moments they’ve given me.
I’m thankful that my parents decided to move to the States, forever changing my life and the life of my siblings and all the generations that will come after us.
Taylor and I are almost back home now, a smoothie and organic frittata in our near future, well – in mine. He’s got his dog food and treats. It’s been an especially amazing hike this morning. Three miles. One hour.
I am thankful for everything.
Literally, everything.
Go Adventure. Go Travel. Go Live.
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ALWAYS BE EPIC
Secret of My SucCecil 
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