And I Thank You

Inspired in equal parts by the fact that Thanksgiving has just passed, by this particular entry on another blog, and because I just don't do it enough, I'd like to present a list of things for which I'm thankful:

My Daughter: She is a generally happy soul, and most days I still wonder what I did to deserve her. She has begun picking up a few words of sign language ("more," "please," "cat," "fish," and "eat" are the entirety of what she currently knows); I can't help but project a certain amount of intelligence onto her.

My Family: They were supportive of almost all of my choices, even when they didn't necessarily understand them. They're still supportive, but they also respect boundaries.

My Friends: They're a foul-mouthed bunch who recognize the line between good and bad taste--and gleefully step across it.

Modern Medicine: I'll bitch about the cost of health insurance and health care in general with the best of them, but after the mini-BG successfully had heart surgery before she was four months old, I'm happy to pay for it.

My Job: Somehow, I found a place that lets me keep my writing and editing muscles in shape, is involved with the Internet, pays a good salary, and is within walking distance of where I live.

Creature Comforts: Like just about everyone I know, I worry about money. But if I really want to get some piece of entertainment ephemera (be it a book, DVD, CD, or what have you)...I can. So my anxiety is tempered by the fact that there are others who have it far, far worse.

My Muse: I don't know where the ideas come from--I only hope they never stop.

My Wife: The last list item you read in a list is the one to which you assign the most importance. Which is why MLW is here. She knew, even before we were married, about the geek trifecta (RPGs, Comics, SciFi/Fantasy), my love of ambient, prog rock, harsh language, and my personality pitfalls. She agreed to tie the knot anyway. I'm thankful for her and for the whole that we've been able to create from our disparate parts. We share the same interests, but we're different. She's the extrovert to my introvert, the chaos theory to my ordered system, the documentary to my action film. She challenges my conventions and can argue circles around me, yet she often believes in me more than I believe in myself. If she were a narcotic, she'd probably fetch a couple g's an ounce. My life was improved by magnitudes the day I met her. In short, I love her.