Here’s a list of just some of the things I find wonderful today and every day, things I’m thankful for (purposefully placed in random order):

 
Rock Band!

A secure job working for a research organization that adds great value to all of society.

Raw cookie dough.

My siblings… particularly living close to my sister for the first time in forever.

My tractor, and the ability to knock trees down and dig big holes anytime I want.

The excellent health of me and my family.

My Dad, who is sorely missed, but it is with all good memories.

That there’s always next year for the Cubs.

A husband who happens to be the Sweetest Guy ever.

My favorite gadgets – GPS, DVR, my sweet little laptop, and a camera I can’t figure out how to work.

My Mom, who amazes me more everyday.  She is sending recorded text messages!

Food, shelter, clothing, and safety.

A Savior.

Bud.  He makes his Mom awful proud.  His great new start.  His amazingness at his job, and the fact that he saves 98% of his income, while still being extraordinarily generous.

Taking Berzerker for walks and watching BlindDog beg in the general direction of an imaginary person.

Getting to interact with so many completely amazing teenagers.  You know who you are.

Being a mentor… thanks Grace.

A gang of friends who will still be smack talking each other in the nursing home.

Pretending to watch football while actually taking a nap.

Pomegranates.

Reconnecting with old friends.

The energizer Bunny known as Magoo.  She is accomplishing amazing things.  Oh the places she’ll go. 

A zero turn mower. 

A complete set of the most fabulous nieces and nephews who have ever walked the earth.

DustMeister is on his way.

Bud is buying me himself an XBOX 360.

The whole SweetGuy extended clan.

The election is finally over.

Bonfires.

My mad dodge-ball skills.

Brussel Sprouts.

Sarcasm.

It is Veteran’s Day.  I feel incredibly blessed by the sacrifices and contributions of all of those who have served in the Armed Forces, and more specifically the ones in my own life: my father, my uncles, and a number of incredibly impressive young men from youth group.

Thank you.

Seriously.

I want to honor someone else today too.  Stick with me here.  The transition will make sense eventually.  Well, it makes sense to me anyway.

Magoo just took part in this funny thing called Breakfast in New York.  The bus trip portion of the trip was about relationships.  Our youth group has done a relationship camp-out or lock-in for the last five or six years.  One of the things we always talk about is relationships with the opposite sex.  A question that sometimes arises during this topic is “Can guys and girls honestly be JUST friends?”

Good question.  I know what my answer is, because I’ve lived it.  Yes they can.

Back in the day, in high school, one of my very very, best friends was Dan.  This guy was sensitive, and compassionate, and funny, and loved the Lord.  There’s a LOT more that I can say about Dan, but for the sake of brevity, I will just say he was a cool dude, and he and I became special friends in high school.  We loved to talk, and joke, and be exactly what friends should be for each other.

We grew together.  Man, it would take so many more words here than I’m willing to make public to describe the impact we had on each other.  OK, he had on me.  I can’t speak for him.  But, it was important for both of us.  I know that.  We were friends.  Good friends.  Great friends.  The kind of friends who knew we would be life long friends.  Even if we were of different genders. 

We had aspirations.  We had fears.  He was going to change the world.  Dan… you promised I would be your Secretary of the Interior when you were elected!  I am still waiting.  He admired Superman, but not for the ways you think.  He desired to emulate the man of steel’s integrity:  “I do not lie”. 

He was my friend in high school.  He was my rock in those tough few years after high school.  During the summer, he was my wake up call.  My job started painfully early and Dan was a night owl to the extreme.  He would call daily to tell me good morning, and I would tell him good night.  When he was off at school, we wrote endless letters to each other.  Yes, snail mail.  In this present day and age, I think snail mail seems very, very cool.  Retro cool.  Back then, between this guy and I, it was a way to encourage, amuse, and uplift.  It mattered a whole lot to me.

So why am I talking about this guy today?  Appropriately, he was born on 11/11.  He is now a pastor, and devoted to his congregation to the point of sacrificing his health and certainly, his own selfish desires have been cast aside.  I admire and appreciate him to no end. 

We don’t talk even close to as deeply or as often as we did once upon a time.  I know that Daniel Edward understands the reasons for this in the same way I do.  We have both chosen paths that dictate devoting our time to priorities other than he and I – for him, it is the church he shepherds, for me it is my kids, family, and youth group.  We both know that our time can be best spent with the priorities we have chosen.  It’s exactly the way it should be right now.  When we are old, perhaps we’ll start writing each other letters again…

He always was, and even more today, is an amazing man.  SweetGuy and I think Pastor Dan is an extraordinary human being, and I am so thankful he was, is, and will be, my friend. 

Happy Birthday Daniel.  As always, I love you. 

Andi