I’m thankful to be trusted as a friend and confidant by people I care about and admire.

I’m thankful that I was able to sleep in a little bit this morning.

I’m thankful to have a friend like Mari who trusts me to mind her cat and her game consoles for a week or so. (Dark Cloud 2? The jury’s still out on that one…)

I’m thankful for the guy who yelled across the street at me that I’d just missed my bus and suggested I get on the one heading the other direction instead. He turned out to be a strange guy who liked making a gun shape with his hand and yelling “Pow!” at passing cars, but he was helpful when it counted. I got to the house a lot faster than I would have otherwise, and spent a lot less time freezing my buttocks.

I’m thankful to live in Portland, Oregon, even if it is going through some rough times lately. We still have one of the better municipal mass transit systems in the country, and you just can’t beat the combination of mountains, rivers and greenery that you find here.

I’m thankful, speaking of those rough times, to be gainfully employed doing something that I’m reasonably good at, at a company that generally allows me to go about my job in whatever fashion I see fit.

I’m thankful for Blender, which I finally got installed on a computer for Alex’s use. Within an hour he was turning out some imaginative stuff, including a short clip involving a tube that vacuums the “eyes” and “nose” off the face of a cylindrical creature. Damn, that boy’s clever and talented.

I’m thankful, speaking of which, for Alex and Erica. The experience of being a father has made me a better man in so many ways, and they constantly enrich my life just by being the excellent young persons that they are.

I’m thankful, still, for Wendi. Even if we ended up falling apart, the last decade wasn’t all bad, dammit.

I’m thankful that my in-laws can tolerate my presence, considering everything that’s happened.

I’m thankful to be happily full of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing and pumpkin pie.

I’m thankful that I have a number of really wonderful people in my life, friends and family alike. Thank you, one and all.

I’m even thankful to be me. Today, I can do that. Who knows, maybe I’ll start a trend or something.