Thirty days hath September, April, June, and...

...this blog...

Yes, believe it or not, this is the 30th entry for Thethankyouyear.blogspot.com. So, what do I have to say for myself?

Uh, can you guess?

Hmmmm?

Well, thank you is it....Thank you to all of you that have stuck it out & read along with me.

So far, you have all joined me for a heart attack, a surgery, a PAINFUL set of cramps. You have also witnessed a return home, a teary-eyed 10 year old who learned what was wrong with his dad. Not only that, you have read about my medications, my boring days of doing nothing and my rehabilitation experience.

Since starting this blog, you all have opened Christmas or Chanukah presents (or BOTH, Linda) and you have welcomed in a new year. If you are me...well, okay work with me here...you cursed the heck outta 2015.

Unfortunately, you witnessed the deaths of David Bowie, Alan Rickman and, more importantly, the death of an 11 year old boy in a tragic way.

While you were reading my posts, three people spent a buck and instantly became some of the richest people in the country. (By the way, if any of you were one of those three Powerball winners; CONGRATS! and I am VERY happy to announce that I found out we are cousins.)

Now, why am I telling you about all of this? Am I afraid you were so involved in my blog that you needed a current events lesson?

Uh, no, I didn't think that. BUT...if that IS the case, glad I could help.

No, what I am trying to do is point out just how much life I have left to live and how grateful I am to God for letting me live it. In just this short month, we have seen so many things, and felt feelings from sheer joy, to exasperation, to boredom, and even complete sadness.

And all of the feelings and experiences have been awesome to me. Not awesome as in, "Dude! That was AWESOME!" But awesome as in I am in awe of each. I can't tell you I was happy to be sad the other day. The day I found out about William's friend was horrible, but I was in awe of the situation. I was in awe of the power with which that news grabbed me.

And...as strange as it may sound...I was glad I was there to GET that message.

The last 2 months have been pretty normal. Famous people died, they always do. Friends have had good news...and bad. Like it or not, that will happen all the time. Stocks rose and fell, we ate too much turkey, and Santa visited millions of homes all in one night.

Pretty basic stuff.

But, in just that short time, for as plain as it was, SO much has happened. So many things that I might not have ever seen took place. So much that my family would have looked at in a different way if only Ashley or I had waited another 2 minutes, or tried to "tough it out."

I am a very lucky man, a blessed man and I have never known it as concretely as I do now. Every boring day, every run-of-the-mill event, every little hello from a friend will drive that point home even more.

Please know I mean these 5 words for each of you with all of my heart...

Good night and God Bless