Thursday, November 26, 2009

It’s Thanksgiving in the US, so…

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johnny curry makes the save :: pens @ wolfpack, hartford, ct :: november 19, 2009

It dawned on me that despite the constant stream of ick, I’ve actually had a lot to be thankful for.

Last night, I made beef fondue. My mother’s way - london broil cut up into cubes and then dunked into boiling peanut oil until cooked. It can’t be the healthiest thing, but I hardly eat it, so it was a nice treat. While I was eating, I was reflecting on some conversations I’d had about my father recently. It sounds weird, cold, whatever, but I’m thankful they’re gone and that I’m distanced from 99% of my blood relatives. The past seventeen years have been a completely messed up ride, but in their passings, each gave me so much. My mother flat out lied in her will - to my daughter, whom I gave everything in life, I leave nothing in death - and it’s funny that she made a point to spell that out. Her death was freeing, it tightened up my relationship with my father and it ultimately ended up being the straw that broke the camel’s back, destroying my tenuous connection with my blood relatives once and for all. I don’t need people I’m related to only by blood causing me drama. Especially when they had shown very little interest in me when my parents were alive…

I know who my friends are and I know which ones are my family. For those guys I’m wicked thankful. Matter of fact, I’m thankful for a lot this year.

- My favorite platypus who always has a hug at the ready.

- My favorite bulldozer for helping me break into the social circles I’m traveling in.

- My old friends who are still around and those I consider my family. Especially the first person I considered a sister and my little brother.

- My skiing buddies… although we may be down a man, we will always have Pony and the memories of riding on the moving carpet.  Looking forward to this year’s adventures!

-  The boys in the bands—Soup and Skinny for always making me feel awesome at their shows and for sneaking me some of the rough mixes of the new album. All the guys in instrument for letting me

smother them

help them out and especially D for that parking lot talk after the Webster show. For whatever reason, it was exactly what I wanted to hear, what I needed to hear. It couldn’t have come at a better time.

- My furbabies for the unconditional love and support they’ve given me. There’s nothing better than puppy kisses. Nothing.

- Hockey—The BU hockey program for reigniting my all-consuming love of hockey and for winning the National Championship. I know we won’t repeat and this season is going to be a long, painful one, but I look forward to getting out and seeing the games. The Rangers for signing Matty Gilroy and being close enough so that we can watch a majority of the games. The Wolfpack for hosting the Baby Pens and allowing me to reconnect with Hockey Girl.

- While I’m on the topic, I’m thankful for having Hockey Girl in my life. Who else would understand that NEED to get the cable stations working in time for the big games? Who else would understand me when I ask them if they want a teddy bear? Who else just “gets” me? Here’s to running around the woods!

- I’m thankful to have a job. As trying as it is to work with Mom and Dad most days, Fig definitely makes it better. I look forward to his bits of wisdom and the jokes he cracks. I think I’ve learned more about him than I’ve wanted to, but he’s just too cute. This job really suits me and I knew going in it was going to suck. I just had it sucking for the wrong reasons. Slowly but surely, we’re getting it to suck less. It’s always been a matter of time, a function of the learning curve, a function of the new world I’ve entered.

- I’m thankful for my knitting girls. No one makes me laugh the way they do.

- And finally, I’m thankful for the Wonder Hubby. I love that we don’t have a “conventional” relationship and that he survived my hitting rock bottom in such a spectacular fashion. I love that we crack the same jokes at the same time. That we order our food in the same boring ways. Even the fact that we tend to wear the same outfits on the same day. He is definitely my other half. (I’m the better half, LOL). It’s been eleven years since we met and we’ve been married seven. We joke about getting divorced all the time, but I know I can’t live without him. I’m pretty sure he feels the same.

Posted by Matty on 11/26 at 10:48 AM
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