Giving Thanks

On this day of Thanksgiving, I figured I would take a moment to reflect on what has been one of the most hectic, stressful and yet, rewarding years of my life.

I’m thankful for my beautiful girls, who are growing and changing every day. Perhaps the best gift in the world is the chance to watch your babies become little people, with distinct personalities, talents and passions. This year in particular, with Skylar in first grade and Fiona now in preschool, each of them has taken on an independence that’s new for us, and terrifying, but at the same time, incredibly rewarding. I love when they tell me what happened at school every day. And what I love even more are the random moments when they look at me and smile, or run over and wrap their arms around me or grab my cheeks and pull me in for a peck. My girls are my world, they make life so very special and they underscore the mystery and magic of God’s wonders.

Of all the things that can clutter a marriage – careers, money and household chores among them – parenting can sometimes be the strongest force. I’m thankful this year that my wife and I have renewed our focus on each other, so that we don’t lose the spark that has drawn us together for so many years. From having more fun together, making more time for each other and supporting each others’ passions and interests and parenting styles, we’re lucky to have a lifetime ahead of us to celebrate each other.

I’m thankful for my family. This year I was reminded of how important family is. While on vacation in Florida, my aunt succumbed to her battle with cancer. I traveled home to Maryland for the funeral and was not only met with the shock of Cricket’s absence, but also of just how much I have been removed from my family for so many years. I moved to Connecticut after I graduated from college, and the rest of my family, on both sides, is still in Maryland. I’ve always heard that when you go off to college, you are forever 18 in the minds of the people you leave behind. It works in reverse too. Even though I have seen them off and on over the years, it’s amazing how unfamiliar I was with my own family when I last saw them. I recognized their spirit, their personalities, their humor, and I remembered vividly the details of their lives, but I was recalling my memories of them, not living in the moment of who they are now. It's sobering when you realize, even though it's not rocket science, that you're not the only person who has grown up and changed. I hope to spend more time visiting, or at least being in better touch with, the people who helped make me who I am today. And I hope we all can find peace and comfort in the knowledge that sometimes God takes the best ones back home because he needs them for something bigger. I will miss Cricket and her spirit, but I am grateful to have had her in my life.

I am thankful to have had a year of incredible success and excitement at work. We have been incredibly busy with good reason – as we launched an incredible new product and an exciting campaign to recognize and encourage creativity and its impact in the world. It’s not every year a person has such opportunity to find such reward in work, and I am thankful to my team for helping to make it a memorable year.

And I’m thankful to have found room in my life again for embracing the things that can’t necessarily be seen or touched, but certainly can be felt. It has been years since I went to church (other than on holidays), but I think we have found a new community where we can share friendship and prayer. Life’s chaos can make it easy to set aside anything that’s not necessary, so I am grateful to have been awakened to the fact that those things bigger than us, that yes, do require a leap of faith and a commitment to early Sundays, can help us more than we can help ourselves.

As I type my thanks this time next year, I will be thankful if I can say that I have continued to be the best father I can be, the most supportive and loving husband I can be, a less removed member of the family, successful at work and spiritually connected to something more powerful than me. And I hope to continue to recognize how delicate, special and beautiful every day can be.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Enjoy your holiday traditions, start new ones, and have a memorable time with family and friends.