Teal Deer

So, it’s Thanksgiving in the US, and the “too long didn’t read” version is:
My list of things I’m grateful for is so long it would crash the internet – which is a very good feeling. I hope many of you feel the same way.

Those of you that have been watching the train wreck of 2010 closely may wonder at this. But truly, this year more than any other, things have worked out. To recap:

~Some of you may remember a few years back when TAO and I had the disastrous vacation that led to our coming home 3 days early – to find a local company illegally bulldozing protected wetlands. Which led to TAO raising the rabble, which led to his being on the village board, which led to his building good roots in our tiny community? The point of all that was made clear when the flooding struck. If we hadn’t gone home/fought big business/made enemies/stuck to our guns – we would have lost everything in the house, not just the basement. (I say we, but really it’s TAO, I’m just the venture capitalist in this partnership.)

~I decided to take a big paycut and a huge lifestyle shift to accept a permanent position. A decision I may still come to regret or rethink. But it meant when I needed to go home for the flood, and now when I will need time off for some health issues, I am somewhere that will let me take the time. My contract company was a good company, but very much a business and not inclined to let little human problems get in the way of money making. Had I still been contracting the penalties would have been crushing.

~Last year’s decision to climb out on the olive branch of friendship meant that this year I have many more friends, supportive acquaintances, and laughing memories. Of course there have been some amazing blunders, but I’ve always had a knack for putting my foot in it, one measly year isn’t going to change that.