Much to be thankful for!

As they say, 'tis the season....this year more than ever, I have so very much to be thankful for. As is often the case it takes a somewhat tragic incident to knock us back to what's real. A week and a half ago I was unexpectedly laid off from 'big telecom'. While the immediate loss of income is very much real and has kept me up most nights this week, it could also be a quiet blessing. To be honest, I haven't found much in this field to get me fired up. Telecom simply isn't very innovative and with each passing day becomes more and more a commodity/utility. I took on the challenge of going to grad school part time with the responsibilities of being a husband, father, and provider in order to position myself to move out of telecom (or at least to a more impactful segment). The economy and intertia admittedly has kept me here. Now that I'm out of it for now, it is forcing me to open my eyes to new things.

This is the one I am currently checking out: www.gazelle.com - talk about a fantastic idea that is relevant!

So while losing my job is super difficult right now, I am considering how lucky I am in other aspects of my life. I have the most amazing partner - she's smart, she's tough, and she's resilient. Our personalities our different as I have written about in other forums (she's a packrat and I am joe organized, she's a hopeless constituent of Red Sox Nation and my fidelity is betrothed to the 27 time World Series Champion New York Yankees, I love to ride my bike fast against other weekend warriors, she got up today at 4 am to go shopping....you get the idea) but opposites attract. While we have watched good friends get married and then divorced, I cannot imagine sharing life with anyone else. We have been 'blessed' (and I used that word judiciously) with 3 fantastic kids who each have terrific personalities and interests. Our families are healthy and for the most part happy. We have a modest home that I am slowly renovating to make into our own little nest in the woods, and we live in a wonderful community with great folks all around. In simple terms other than the "work thing" (or lack thereof...) we're doing Ok.

I have a cousin who is a West Point grad and is serving his third tour overseas and is currently deployed somewhere in Afghanistan. My aunt and uncle haven't heard from him in almost a month now due to the crap communications infrastructure there. While visiting a prospective new employer in Boston this past week I came across half a dozen homeless folks that were looking for some help in the pouring rain. We have a lot of family that is within driving distance of our house, so Thanksgiving dinner was a fun-filled party with lots of yummy food and cheer. I don't have anything to gripe about.....life's pretty good for me right now.

I'm looking forward to some new adventures and I am hoping that I'll be able to find some work that is more personally fulfilling and interesting and most importantly, makes a difference. Until that though, I am thankful for what I have.