I am mostly thankful for my family that I have, the friends that I have, and others that I make. Being a father is a tremendous blessing, and I am most thankful for that through the years and every holiday season. I laugh at the fact that my father was such a big mentor when I was a kid. He had to explain every question I asked with an in depth answer that I’m sure he wrote down somewhere. Now that I am a father, I still laugh because I want my son to know everything that I know. I want him to read the same books, documentaries, and I answer my son’s questions with the same in depth explanation as my father.
When I was sixteen years old my mother worked all of the time. I didn’t really get to see her much, but she showed up when it counted. She would come to my games at school, tournaments at my dojo, and all of my parent teacher conferences. One year she asked me to put up the Christmas tree since she was busy working, so my three friends and I went out to retrieve the Charlie Brown tree of my life. My mother tried not to laugh too hard, and we decorated it to the top. I remember her being scared to turn the lights on. Every time the story came up she would say the same thing my father would say. I used to think it was to make me feel better, but I quickly realized it was words of wisdom. They would say, “son, it doesn’t matter whether you win or lose. It doesn’t matter what’s on the table to eat at Thanksgiving dinner or what’s under the Christmas tree. It’s what’s around it… family, friends, and being there for you.”
Be thankful for what is important… your spouse, children, parents, and friends. Be thankful for the stories and always enjoy a good laugh with them.
Happy Holidays from PRIER and thank you to our customers for a great year!
