I Just Want to Thank You

With it being my birthday I thought I would reflect on how lucky I am and send out some thanks to everyone who helped turn me into the middle aged man that I am today. So, here goes. (BTW, sorry if this is really sappy, us middle aged folks tend to get that way from time to time. I promise my next blog will be nothing but a bitch fest.)

I want to thank the following people

My Mom - For doing a kick ass job as a single mom for as long as she was. You sacrificed a lot for me and my Vince and I don’t tell you nearly enough how grateful I am for that. Thanks for teaching me to respect women and setting the bar high in who I looked for in a soul mate. Also, for looking past my faults and loving me for who I am.

My Dad- For instilling in me all the values that I still have. You taught me to be a leader not a follower and to respect your elders. Thanks for those summers in Ohio. For letting me stay up and watch horror movies. I think I got my warped taste in cinema from you. Also as much as I may bitch about it thanks for raising me a Cubs fan. I couldn’t imagine being anything else.

My Brother Vince – Well thanks for a lot of things. First off for being my best man. You gave a kick ass speech. Thanks for being such a gifted writer. Every time I think about that speech you gave at our Grandfathers wake I start to get verklempt. Thanks for playing catch with me back in the day, I know you hated it. Thanks for getting me into the Kinks. I have been getting deeper and deeper into their catalog and you are right they rock. But most of all thanks for being a kick ass brother.

My Grandpa Joe- For the millions of laughs and great memories I have. He was such a happy go lucky guy. I can’t think of one person who ever met him who didn’t love him instantly. Thanks for teaching me to know no strangers in life and to greet everyone with a smile.

My Grandma Rita - For all those stories you used to tell me as a kid. She would come up with these off the top of her head and they were captivating. Also, for never letting me win at 500 rummy when I was a kid. It made me a much better player and I love the game still.

My Grandpa Jim and Grandma Clara - You both passed on before I really got to know you. I am told you both loved me very much. I wish I would have got to know you both better.

Lou – Man I can’t even imagine marrying a woman with kids 15 and 13 years old. Thanks for putting up with me at that age. Thanks for teaching me to drive. Thanks for fixing my car when I needed it. Thanks for at the drop of hat when I call you coming over and fixing some ailment at my house. I probably should have paid better attention to when you were fixing things back in the day as opposed to just standing there holding a flashlight. I could not in a million years ever ask for a better step dad. You truly rock.

Tamara - Thanks for putting us up on our recent visit to Ohio. I know it is a lot of work. Thanks most of all for making my Dad happy at long last.

My Aunt Kathy – For all those amazing thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter meals you slave over. You have raised the bar so high that I can’t enjoy anyone else’s turkey or lasagna. I know how much work you put into it and I never fully showed my appreciation.

My Uncle John – For all those Cub games you took me to as a kid. For taking me to the Hawks games as well. For giving me my first job. You gave me my love of sports that I still have today. Some of my best memories are of sitting at Wrigley with you and my Uncle Dan.

My Aunt Joanne – Thanks for those Friday nights. Vince and I still talk and tell stories from those evenings of our youth. We both have such fond memories from those times. Thanks for taking me to those special reading classes when I was a kid. I really appreciate it.

My Uncle Dan – Where do I begin? Thanks for giving me my sense of humor. I know how sarcastic I am and I no doubt got that from you. Thanks for the chili and Swedish meatballs. Thanks for putting up with us on those Friday nights. Thanks for introducing me to the Arp’s. Thanks for the ballgames and hotdogs. Maybe I can pick some more weeds and I can knock a couple more off the list.

My Aunt Jennie – Thanks for never hiding your emotions. You taught me it is okay to wear your feelings on your sleeve. Thanks for all my wonderful cousins. Thanks for renting me Re-Animator when you went to rent a Care Bears movie for Leyna.

Jim – Thanks for bringing another Cub fan into the family, there is strength in numbers. Also, thanks for everything you did on that camping trip. You were a born camper even if that was your first time going.

My Aunt Angela – First off sorry for being such a pain in the ass during your teen years. I was 8 and a brat, my bad. Thanks for walking me to school when I am sure you would have much rather been hanging out with your friends. Thanks for being the glue in our family. You keep us organized and make us feel appreciated.

Randy – Thanks for introducing me to some great 70’s rock. You came along at a time when the Billy Joel and Elton John music may have infected me as well. Thanks for helping me with the St. Joseph’s statue all those years.

My Cousin Kristie – Thanks for being the only girl in the bunch when it was the four of us. That probably sucked. Thanks for taking the pressure off of me, Vince and Kevin by giving us Danny.

My Cousin Kevin – Thanks for being an usher at our wedding and for making our wedding that much more fun with your mere presence. Thanks for showing Vince and I a side of Vegas I had never seen. Thanks for not making me look like the only slob when it comes to eating rolls on Thanksgiving.

My Cousin Leyna – First off thanks for being born. You took the pressure off me and Vince. Thanks for your smarts. You kick ass at nearly every game we play at the family functions and make me raise my game to a much higher level.

John – Thanks for laughing at my jokes. Our family functions are not the same for me without you there as no one else seems to get my humor like you do. Thanks for becoming my as I like to call you “pseudo cousin in law.”

My Cousin Michael – Thanks for all the wiffle ball games. Even though we both know that was a foul ball. Seriously, though thanks for being a fellow smart ass. I don’t think I know anyone as comfortable in their own skin as you.

My Cousin Marisa –Thanks for taking the abuse for some reason we heap on you. It is all in jest and they say you only kid the ones you love.

My Cousin Joe – Thanks for keeping me young. I got on myspace and facebook after you joined. Also, thanks for opening up my world with the IPOD. Mine sat on my desk til I saw you rock yours. I haven’t been the same since.

My Cousin Catie – Thanks for giving me the experience of seeing someone roll 4 yahtzee’s in one game. Thanks for playing fold that towel and not holding a grudge when my brother almost stepped on your head when you were an infant.

My Cousin Brinn – Thanks for being the flower girl at our wedding. You did a bang up job and made our day more enjoyable. I’ll make a Cub fan out of you one of these days.

My friend Chuck – Thanks for asking me to be a groomsman at your wedding. Thanks for being a sounding board all these years for my bitching about my fantasy baseball team. Most of all thanks for all the memories. I think I share as many funny memorable moments with you as I do anyone else.

My friend Dell – Thanks for all those rides in the Impala. Thanks for the good times in your Mom’s basement. Thanks for all the great times in all the bars we have been in together. Lastly, thanks for going on the St. Fabian’s retreat with us. We could not have gone without you. (p.s. Thank your brother for all the 15 packs of Stroh’s)

My friend Rob – First off thanks for not holding a grudge about the price gun. Thanks for all the wonderful “Robbie” moments. Thanks for the fun we had on the Vegas and New Orleans trips. (We need to go to Vegas again, BTW.) Thanks for the Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club. And finally thanks for enduring the suffering along with me for all those Cub playoff losses.

My friend Wally – Thanks for all of those great times at IRI. I still get mileage out of those stories. Thanks for introducing me to the rest of your family, you certainly have a fun and wonderful clan. Thanks for introducing me to Howard and the White Boys. Thanks for all the Sundays watching football no matter where our home was.

My friend Zar – Thanks for making Argo enjoyable. Thanks for the T and C Shirts and the years we hung with Doyle. Thanks for picking out some really bad videos back in the day. Thanks for letting us party at your Mom’s house.

My friend Tony – First off sorry about that year we lived together. I was in a really bad place and was dating a psycho. Thanks for driving our asses around all those years we would go out boozing. Thanks for all the movie passes. Thanks for all the good times we have had a Wrigley.

My friend Chris – For all the trips to the drive inn on Columbus Drive and the Aids popcorn. Thanks for those parties in that apartment in Worth. Thanks for adding the term “Yestergay” into my vocabulary.

My friend Don – Thanks for your knowledge of useless trivia that I seem to also posses (Polly Holiday). Thanks for the thousands of stories I now have. Thanks for keeping the House of Pain in the family.

My Friend Kevin (Cons) – Thanks for those times we rocked at the Mickey D’s at Moraine. Thanks for melding your posse into mine and my brothers. Thanks for some kick ass wild card weekend parties.

My friend Mike (Shields) – Thanks for “Larry Flint is right.” Thanks for making the Banana Sack show while piercing to the ears, still a good time with the lines you had that night.

All the guys in both the baseball and football fantasy leagues – If I haven’t mentioned you already thanks for playing a geeked out game and allowing me to be a part of it. I have a lot of fun and waste a lot of time playing fantasy sports and look forward to the next draft.

All the girls I loved before – First off, I am sorry. I was young and didn’t know what the hell I was doing. Thanks for playing a part in shaping and molding me into the man I am today. Some played small roles others played larger ones, but there is no doubt that each encounter I had with the opposite sex no matter how awkward or smooth I was, helped turn me into the man that lead me to Joyce.

To anyone else I may have forgotten to mention – Thanks for reading this far down. I’m sorry as you can see I am getting old and forgetfulness comes with the territory.

And last but in no way least Joyce – Thanks for so much. Thanks for choosing to spend your life with me. Thanks for making me feel like the best looking guy in the world when we both know I am far from it. Thanks for putting up with me when the Cubs lose. Thanks for making me a better man. You have no idea how lucky I feel I am that I get to spend my time on this earth with you. For all that and so much more I owe you a huge thank you.