Thanksgiving 2013

Dear Internet,

Each year, I strive to make a list on Thanksgiving of those things I am thankful for.  I will do the same this year, and I have consciously tried not to look at lists of years past, so as not to duplicate things simply by wrote copying.  So here, in 2013, is my list, in no particular order.

1. I am thankful for Kate, my wife.  She is funnier than I often care to admit, more social than me, more aware of things, and generally more well liked.  I'm happy she's decided to hang around.
2. I'm thankful for our home in S. Minneapolis.  Yes, I have still not identified the problem with the light in the basement, nor hooked up the cable.  But it's home, it fits us, and to boost our hipster cred in the coming year, our street is now a bike boulevard.  
3. I'm thankful for our awkward greyhound - he is a good friend, even when his skinny head shows up at dinner and drinks my cousin's wine.
4. I am thankful for my mom, dad, and other members of my small family.  They have been incredibly supportive through all the years, but I noticed it especially in the buildup to the wedding this year.
5. Speaking of weddings, I am thankful that so many folks could join us last month to be chill, have a drink, and help celebrate the whole getting married thing.  Good times were had.
6. I am thankful that I was not debilitatingly hungover on my wedding day, despite the best efforts of a certain groomsman and a whiskey tap...
7. I'm also thankful for my suddenly expanded large family on Kate's side, who have taught me many things regarding the preparation of red meat, horses, the throwing of dinner parties, and other essential life skills.
8. I'm thankful for steady employment, and the means to live a life more comfortable than I deserve.
9. I'm thankful for the hope that a more fulfilling vocation awaits.
10. Although I wouldn't say I'm necessarily thankful for 96 losses, I am still thankful each time I can sit and watch the Twins outside on a beautiful Minnesota summers' night with a beer and polish sausage, enjoy the company of good friends, and hopefully see something interesting on the field.
11. I'm also thankful to listen to Twins games on the radio, which never fails to instantly transport me back to more innocent days.
12. I'm thankful for freshly waxed skis, blue skies, new snow, and the chance to enjoy a day on the slopes.
13. I'm thankful Kate has decided to step outside of her comfort zone and join me in the aforementioned activity, and I am thankful for the opportunity to ski together in the future.
14. I'm thankful for my friends, the whole lot of them.  I'm thankful for google hangout book clubs, manboy holiday parties, afternoons at the pool, and happy hours for ballgames.  I am thankful that life changes, though they may change schedules and locations, do not change the depth of friendship.
15. I'm thankful every time I can ride my bicycle.  As a friend said, "if the longest road is between the head and the heart, the best way to get there is by bike."
16. I'm thankful for Saturday mornings with donuts from A Baker's Wife, coffee at the Angry Catfish, and a session of bike bullshitting with the staff.
17. I'm very thankful for fresh beer brewed locally.  One favourite that sticks out this year so far would probably be Chocolate Milk Stout from Dangerous Man.
18. I'm thankful for undertaking the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual challenge of the Kalalau Trail in Kaua'i, having had the fortitude to make it there and back again, and for the memories and images that are now a permanent part of my experience.
19. I'm also thankful for the opportunity in general to have spent a holiday on Kaua'i and the town of Hanalei, which if I imagine paradise has a location, would be pretty close to it.  
20. I'm thankful for learning to surf.
21. I'm thankful for tacos.
22. I'm thankful for the trombone, and every opportunity to play it.  I'm thankful for teachers and professors who believed in me and pushed me practice and unlock my talents.
23. I'm thankful for the timeless lyrics and melodies of Bob Dylan, and for the opportunity to see him play once again.
24. I'm thankful for Hawaiian shirts.
25. I'm thankful for a sense of adventure.  
26. I'm thankful for our plans and focus on taking some time out of our hectic lives in 2016, and doing something we would not ordinarily do - namely, traverse the country by bike on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route.
27. I'm thankful for Ricky Rubio - the rest of the Timberwolves too, I suppose.
28. I'm thankful for good health that allows me to enjoy an active life.
29. I'm thankful for cups of coffee.
30. I am thankful for the city I live in - for green spaces, for lakes and streams, for places to bike (see number 15), for delicious restaurants and interesting things to do.
31. I'm thankful for the color blue.
32. I'm thankful for the faith community at Christus Victor Lutheran, and the chance to search for something meaningful, among others, in life.
33. While we are on the topic of meaningful things, I'm thankful for every opportunity I have to get into a wild, natural place.
34. I'm thankful for brightly coloured socks.
35. I'm thankful for listening.
36. I'm thankful for pizza - especially pepperoni and sausage.
37. I'm thankful for the students on Farmington High School's mock trial team - I like to tell myself we are both learning something.
38. I'm thankful for music.
39. I'm thankful that J.J. Abrams is directing Star Wars Episode VII.
40. I'm thankful that this man is on youtube.
41. I'm thankful for the opportunity to serve on the CV Church Council, even when the meetings go too long.
42. I'm thankful for that technology that allows you to actually maintain meaningful relationships.
43. I'm thankful for summer weekends in Minnesota - one of many highlights this year would probably be Rock the Garden.
44. I'm thankful for even numbers.
45. I'm thankful for softball with the God Squad - no matter how many games we win.
46. I'm thankful for peanut butter.

I can't claim to have listed everything I'm thankful for this year, but I did my best as time allowed.  If you read this blog, I am undoubtedly thankful for you as well!