I went on a cold but sunny run this Thanksgiving morning and had an hour to clear my mind of any distractions. Here are the many thoughts of what I am thankful for this year:
– I’m thankful for my wife’s health. This holiday weekend marks one year from the Sunday morning we were lifting weights together and the mysterious and debilitating “headache” started. Its not 100%, but its a lot better.
– I’m thankful for my own health, feeling the aching of my cold legs turning through the morning temperatures, cold air hitting my lungs with a bit of burn reminding me that I’m alive.
– I’m thankful for the information sharing that exists today with patients, we would not have made it as far as we had on my wife’s health without the help and support of other patients and the power of information.
– I’m thankful my employer has given me the flexibility to deal with the last year and for my team and coworkers for picking up what I could not.
– I’m thankful for my family and friends for their support over the past year, and specifically those who traveled or listened for hours to help us when needed
– I am thankful to be part of the lucky top 5% in the world, those people fortunate enough to be born in the United States of America. I won life’s lottery at birth, now its up to me to make the best of these lottery winnings every day.
– I’m thankful for living in an area and country where people smile when they pass running. Even more so, I’m thankful to live in a place where I have to choose to work my body, instead of requiring my body to work for basic needs.
– I’m thankful for coffee, specifically being able to drink this beverage slowly each morning. I can’t imagine how thrilled the first humans who discovered coffee were.
– I’m thankful for technology, listening to the sound of music in my ears while pounding one foot after another. There are some days I enjoy running with nature, some days I enjoy running with music. Today was for music.
– I’m thankful for 70 degree and sunny days in November and for the ability to freely move within the country for travel or work.
– Finally, I’m thankful for the day off work with the specific purpose of reflecting on what we have.
My wife and I also started out Thanksgiving with a five mile 27 degree F run at 5:30 AM with a couple of our friends. We are both over 60, early retired and financially independent though I still pursue some paid and nonpaid side gigs because it is fun and also helps others. I feel so blessed to have had a life partner for the last 40 years on this journey and am thankful we can still run pretty fast and still play some pretty tough tennis. Ditto on being born here and in our case to having had wonderful parents that taught us to work, save and live frugally. Wonderful post and I suspect you are going to be in your sixties some day looking back on a great life and looking forward to what’s ahead just like we are.