I am thankful for many things every year and they always seem to be the same. Having great parents and great friends is always on my list, and the past couple of years I can throw in the fact of having a great girlfriend, too. Of course I don’t tell any of them nearly enough how much appreciate having them in my life, so hopefully they will just bookmark this and that way they could always be reminded of how much I care for them. I could see their egos rising now; I may never live this one down. I apologize to them, but as much as I love them, none of them are what I am most thankful for this year.
This year is the first time I can seriously say that I have dedicated myself to my passion in life. I’ve finally started to work towards my dreams of becoming a professional writer. I love to create characters, let them come to life and see where they lead the story. I love to entertain people; make them laugh, smile and sometimes even cry. It is truly a great feeling to now be brave enough to live by a saying I have used all of my life “dare to dream.” Throughout my life there are many years in which this would be what I am most thankful for, but this year is not one of them.
This year I am most thankful for my son Noah and the relationship we have. Unfortunately, I don’t get to see him anywhere near as much as I would like to, but every moment we do spend together I cherish. Noah is a little ball of energy and just turned two years old in August.
I’m sure every parent has said this of his or her child many times that he or she grows up way too quickly. This is something that I’m not sure people can understand the full extent of until they have children of their own. I now fully understand the meaning of that statement, and my son is only two years old.
I often wonder where the time has gone and find myself thinking of how much he has grown in so little time. When he runs, I think of how it seemed like just a little bit ago that he was trying to walk. When he says dadda it melts my heart, but also makes me think of when he was first starting to talk. As a divorced father that only gets to see his son every two weeks, the time seems to go that much quicker.
I find myself often hoping that he realizes how much I love him and miss him when we are not together. I sometimes even get scared that I will not be able to be part of his life enough to help him through tough times and be one of the people he turns to for help and advice.
I can even think of one thing in particular that I will think of when giving thanks this Thanksgiving. The one thing that can cheer me up, no matter how bad my day has gone. I will think of how my son’s face lights up every time he first sees me when I come for visitation.
