In my
daily virtual roaming in the world of Facebook, a few people have taken part in
what I think is a growing tradition or trend: during the month of
November, the month of Thanksgiving, people are taking a moment each day of the
month and state something that they are thankful for.
Well,
it’s December. I did well, at first…four posts covering 18 days, and I actually
was ahead of schedule. And then…
…I
took a vacation. (#19)
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| Mt. Washington, Pittsburgh |
 |
| Penn's Landing, Philadelphia |
It
wasn’t a vacation where I took a cruise, or hopped a flight to an exotic
place: instead, I had the opportunity (#
9) to take nine days off from my career (#17) to travel to visit old friends (#3),
distant co-workers (#4) and old places, and to visit family (#1) and my little guy (#3) for the holidays
(#22). Part of my time was scheduled, but part of that time was blocked off for
some freedom (#7); the freedom (#7) to do whatever I wanted to do. I found
great blocks of free time in both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia to wander among
the skyscrapers and around the historic center of our Democracy (#6), where our
rights (#8) were defined and guaranteed to be protected. Specifically, I was
able to visit two of my favorite places:
Mt. Washington in Pittsburgh (#20) and Penn’s’ Landing in Philadelphia
(#21). Of course, in both cities, my digital camera and iPod (my two favorite
pieces of technology-#5) were with me at all times, and I was able to escape
within my element. And as a bonus, I was able to take one of my favorite drives
(#25) – the scenic Pennsylvania Turnpike, particularly from New Stanton PA
eastward to Carlisle, PA. I’ve driven this stretch probably 50 times over the
years, with the first time being in 1989 on my way to an on-campus tour of my
then-future alma mater, IUP (Indiana University of PA - #27).
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| Lucky Strike, Philadelphia |
 |
| Yes. A cheesesteak. |
As I
said, I visited friends. In Pittsburgh, we had what I think is becoming a great
tradition (#23): all of my second family
got together, brought food and drinks, and had a big get-together complete with
a rousing game-night of the game Apples-to-Apples. If you’ve never heard of it,
Google it – it is a great game to play with a group of friends and/or
family. In Philadelphia, one of my best
friends took a half day to meet me, and we proceeded to walk around for the
better part of 8 hours, stopping at a couple of bars, a “spiffy” bowling alley,
and a jazz club for dinner (#16). I was able to catch a couple of movies (#16)
on my break, and I was able to eat some great food (#28) not only for
Thanksgiving itself (#30), but at the big get-together in Pittsburgh, and again
in my Philly-wandering, where I was able to have my traditional (#23) hoagie (#28)
one night, and a cheesesteak (#28) one afternoon.
I
visited family (#1), and had some one-on-one time with Daniel (#2). I was
fortunate enough that his parent-teacher conference was during the week I was
home, so I was able to meet his teacher (#14) and get a first-hand report of
how well he is doing in Kindergarten – a fact that still blows my mind,
actually. I was able to see him in a basketball class, which was really neat to
see, and we had a little lunch time out where we were just hanging out.
And,
to wrap things up, I also I had a couple of very good friends celebrated
birthdays (#26) that week also, and although I wasn’t able to celebrate (#29) with
them on their exact birthdays (#26), I was able to do so close to their days.
So,
here I sit, December 3rd. In looking back, I have a lot of todays (#18)
to be thankful for, and I have a lot of daily things to celebrate (#29). And
though there is some debate on the meaning and history of Thanksgiving (#30), I
think the general sentiment is something that cannot be argued. We each have
things to be thankful for, every day, and sometimes that gets lost in the
shuffle and grind of daily life, in the trials and tribulations, which can attempt
to derail us. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of taking a step back and for me…looking
at the list I’m about to re-cap below.
Now…on
to December!
_____
_____
These were (are) 30 or so of my favorite things:
- Family
- Daniel
- Friends
- Co-Workers
- Technology
- Democracy
- Freedom
- Rights
- Opportunities
- Happiness
- Veterans
- First Responders
- Nurses/Medical Staff
- Teachers
- Volunteers
- Artists
- My Career
- Today
- Vacation(s)
- Mt. Washington, Pittsburgh
- Penn’s’ Landing, Philadelphia
- Holidays
- Traditions
- Game nights
- Drives
- Birthdays
- IUP
- Good Food
- Celebrations
- Thanksgiving
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