Geek Habitat

We returned home from Dallas yesterday afternoon, unscathed by the holiday traffic, Texas Highway Patrol and other travel hazards.

So, without further delay, it’s time to share my belated thanks for this year.

I Give Thanks this Year for…

• The love, support, companionship, inspiration and lives of our families and friends. They make our lives sparkle.
• For Justin. Always, for Justin. My man, my best friend, my partner and my husband. My All. I love you, darlin’.
• For Justin’s love of aviation and skills as a pilot. In just one of so many ways, he contines to show me (and our loved ones) a new way of seeing and being.
• For the Freedom of Flight, which hijackers, terrorists and uninformed fear can never be permitted to take away. And for AOPA in their tireless efforts to ensure terror doesn’t kill general aviation (the majority of flying done worldwide).
• For my mom’s resilience, determination and strength in spite of an awful accident and major surgery this year. She’s amazing.
• For our general well-being, wealth (measured not in money but in love, friendship, intellect and talents) and joy, and for the ability to share it with each other and our families.
• For the next generation — Tanner, Kendal and Jillian — who entertains and inspires us even as they remind us of the incredibly rapid passage of time.
• For blue skies, fluffy clouds, birds at the bird feeder, hiking trails, geocaches, sunrises and sunsets. Beauty and wonder everywhere, if one but looks around.
• For a dream pursued that, 1.5 years later, has taught me more than I imagined and made me a better person — humbled, hard-working, passionate about each day and always looking forward. And for a husband and family that saw it was something I needed to do and has supported me every step of the way.
• For memories made and memories yet-to-be-made. For the gift of life and the blessings of being born an American, the greatest place in the world despite its faults. Being a Texan, too, is just icing on the cake.
• For another year and so much more to do in life that I look forward to what it has in store for all of us.
• For our U.S. military and all who give up so much to perform their duties (including those who perish doing just that), set an example, deal with unspeakable circumstances and just be. For real people and real heroes, whether they’re in uniform or working to raise the next generation into honest, loving, hard-working adults.