What I am Thankful for: Thanksgiving 2020

With the holiday season upon us and Thanksgiving having arrived, many Americans take the day to at least temporarily sit and reflect on what they are thankful for. While 2020 has been bad for many of us, I think it is important to sit and reflect just the same. I have been reflecting since I woke up this morning, and it turns out I have a lot to be grateful for...

First, I am thankful for a physically healthy family. We have had our share of COVID scares because of day care and have been through a series of day care shut downs because of positive COVID cases, but our children have always tested negative. To a certain extent being healthy is being happy. If you spend an entire year in good health, especially as you start getting older, that is something worth celebrating.

Second, I am thankful for the love and support of my family. If you have been reading through my blog posts you know that both my wife and I are in the military and we are stationed in different places. This provides a unique set of relationship challenges for both my wife and I as well as our children. My wife and I work hard to support each other’s careers, manage single parenting and running a household while working full time and beyond, support our extended families as needed, and work towards achieving our plans for the future. I know we all do those same things in our own ways, in our own lives. But let me tell you my wife is something special, she does so much and I am extremely lucky to have her in my life. I don’t know how I survived for so long without her.

Third, I am grateful my wife and I have been blessed to have steady employment throughout the year. When I look back and reflect on the number of Americans who lost their job and continue to not have jobs I am deeply saddened. I am hopeful with the vaccines coming soon, all our neighbors who lost their jobs can find employment and prosper in the coming year. We are also blessed to be part of an organization that has demonstrated immense patience with and support for families during this ordeal. I am talking about the Army. I am certain there are other Soldiers out there who did not have the experience I have, but the Army is a large, complex organization and individual experience may vary. For me I want to express my gratitude to the division command and staff at 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York and the Sergeant’s Major at the Noncommissioned Officer Leadership Center of Excellence at Fort Bliss, Texas. They both have amazing teams and great leaders. 

So what are you thankful for? We would love to hear from you so please drop a comment. Until next time, Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!