I’m thankful…

It’s been a year of unexpected events, uncertainty, and pure relief for me.

It was quite unexpected that what was diagnosed as a broken ankle, ended up being a tumor.

The docs and labs were uncertain for weeks as to what type of tumor had hollowed out the bone in my ankle.

Then it was pure joy to pick up the phone on a Friday afternoon to hear that the tumor was not cancerous.

There were many other highs and lows.

My cousin Brad was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. He had side effects to the chemo that had some of the top docs in Boston confused.

I saw him a few months ago and he looked fabulous. I had to hold myself back from squeezing him too hard while we hugged.

Another cousin, Mike, also was diagnosed with cancer. Mike and his family raise money for cancer every year in memory of their mother who died from it several years ago.

Mike also kicked cancer’s ass!

We fell way behind on our mortgage payments. But the bank gave us a second chance and so far so good.

I’ve been struggling with my job. I’m not a salesman at heart. But I truly love sitting with people and listening to their stories. I love speaking in front of crowds.

I hate selling. I hate feeling like I am being pushy.

I’ve met a friend that I think can help me to expand my capabilities and push me towards higher goals. I’m thankful that we are working together.

Yes I’m stressed out over unpaid bills. I lose sleep and I wrack my brain for ideas on how to catch up.

I worry about my neighbor and where he’ll end up in the next few weeks or so.

I worry that my ankle is hurting me again and I’ll be going back for another round of tests to see if anything else is going on in there. But even then, it’s just a matter of going back in and having it removed.

I guess what I’m trying to say is to be thankful for what you have. Be good to your family and friends. Always do what you think is right. Follow your dreams. Follow your gut feeling. And everything else will fall into place.

I hope that Christmas Day finds you and your families healthy and happy.

THE CHRISTMAS SHOES

OK… I won’t be able to watch it again because the asses at Comcast can’t wait a few days at Christmas time for a freaking payment… BUT… TONIGHT AT 9PM on LIFETIME is the sappy movie that I’ve been talking about.

So if you’re busy tonight, make sure you set your DVR.

The song by the same title was recorded by the Christian vocal group, NewSong.

The Christmas Shoes

OK I am such a freaking sap.

Again I watched The Christmas Shoes on the Hallmark Channel.

Yup… and again I cried when the mother told her son that she was going to Heaven and then again when he gave his mother the shoes AND THEN AGAIN when the kid is grown and sees Rob Lowe in the cemetery.

So I downloaded the song this morning. I think it’s by Kenny Chesney (some country guy).

I hope they play it again because I’ll watch it for the third time this month if they do.

Last night we also watched It’s a Wonderful Life.

Others on my holiday movie list: The Muppets Christmas Carol, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Happy Elf, The Polar Express, The Santa Claus (all three of them), Elf, and of course all of the Rankin/Bass classics like Rudolph.

As for the half-hour shows:  The  Bear that Slept through Christmas, The Night Before Christmas, and The Little Drummer Boy.       

It’s OK to be a sap at Christmas time. It’s OK to be a sap anytime.

Post #100

I’ve had a Facebook account for a while. But I never set it up.

My friend Jeremy has been pressuring me to go on so that he can send me Fraggles. I love Fraggles. I love Jim Henson and Kermit. Jim Henson was a genius.

So I set up my page. I looked for old friends from high school and found some of them. It’s already been worth the effort. I also want to do some networking and maybe find some oppertunities to get some more Aflac accounts.

I didn’t care for high school much. Up until my junior year I was overweight. And you know how that goes. But my junior and senior years was great. I’d lost thirty pounds over the summer and everything changed. Yeah… now I was cool.

But it’s sad how there are always a few morons in the crowd that feel a need to belittle others.

Over the years I’ve run into some of those unkind high school jerks. And I can tell you of at least five stories in which that person has practically cried on my shoulder about their pitiful lives.

So yeah… I’ve put some weight on since my ankle surgery and I still have a bit of a stutter (some people are shocked to hear that because I can hide it so well now), but I’m very comfortable in my own skin and proud of the man that I’ve turned out to be. Everything seems to come around full circle.

 I taught all of my children to accept people for who they are. That we are all different. That we are all special. That they should never look down on another individual or be a part of a group that does.

That said, there are two or three people from high school that I would love to get in front of to kick their asses. In fact, if I found them I’d go out of my freaking way to see if they remembered me and if they are still assholes like they were twenty-six years ago.

I know, I know… it goes against everything I’ve been preaching and I should be ashamed of myself. Well… maybe I should be. What is it about revenge that makes it sweeter than four packets of Splenda?

I think it’s the need to let that person know that what they did was hurtful. Hurtful, and mean, and unnecessary. And you just want to smack them in the face with a little of what they gave to you.

F**k everything I said above. Bullies need to be taken down a few notches even if it’s twenty-six years later.

I need to hold a meeting with all of my kids. I want them to track down anyone that was ever rotten to them and to punish them for their actions.

Facebook, MySpace, Friendster… THEY CAN’T HIDE. I WILL HUNT THEM DOWN! I’ll wipe those silly little grins off their nasty, older faces. Let’s see who’s looking cute now. Let’s see just how tough they are now… BUCKOS!

I can only hope that their own children were hideously ugly and pissed their pants during eighth-grade gym class. That would be sweet.

At least I grew up into a wonderful, well-adjusted adult. I don’t let things in the past bother me now. What’s the point?

Now that I think about it, it’d be even funnier if their kids were too stupid to remember to buy them Christmas gifts.

Happy Holidays!