An Anniversary of Gratitude

 

This mailing marks the end of the fifth year of this “whatever this is,” which also means it’s the start of the six year of “whatever this is.”

You would think that after five years of “whatever this is” I would have a better name for this than “whatever this is.” You have a very good point.

I’m now wishing I’d not mentioned that this was the anniversary and we didn’t have to have this awkward conversation about “whatever this is” and I could go on pretending that I have a clue about, well, anything at all.

What is it about anniversaries that prompts introspection and reflection and all that bologna that is decidedly serious and painful and not at all conducive to punchlines? It really makes it so I’m stuck with undercutting honesty with awkward rambling. At least it increases my word count.

Where was I?

Right. I was trying to avoid schmaltzy anniversary-prompted introspection with a bunch of obfuscation.

That reminds me! This is the holiday season!

In the spirit of the holidays, I want to share with you one of the things that makes me particularly thankful.

That would be YOU.

I know, it’s a bit schmaltzy in a different way, but, that doesn’t mean it’s not true. I am grateful for all of you who have stuck beside me, through good jokes and bad, through recycled content and episodes of nonsensical rambling, you are still here.

You are still here, right? You didn’t maybe check out after the part where I confessed that I have no clue about “whatever this is” or the part where I might’ve said something about being thankful for you, and that was slightly awkward, so you stopped reading and started looking for the “unsubscribe” link…

…If you ARE still here, thank you. Without you, not only would I have given this “whatever this is” up years ago, but, a third of the content of this particular mailing would be much more pathetic than it already is. You have yourselves to thank for giving me something to not only be thankful for, but for giving me something with which to fill this space.

That means, if you’re tired of reading this, you only have yourselves to blame.

In this season of giving, however, I will let you off the hook, and go back to simply being grateful for you. I will also wish you a season of joy and laughter, and hope you are as grateful for yourselves as I am, and that you are feeling warm and happy and full of gratitude for all that you have. Maybe, just maybe, there’s still a tiny spot within your generous soul that’s also a tiny bit grateful that you are still reading this “whatever it is.”