I’m inspired by the large amount of “Say What You Need To Says” that have come in to our website. Being Thanksgiving time, here are some not so oridinary things I’m thankful for:

Being able to smell. Love the coffee aisle in the grocery store!
Dogs noses going up in the air when they catch a wiff of something.
Ice cold beer on a hot, sweaty day.
Lyle Lovett.
I’m thankful for easy video conferencing. To see my daughter on the east coast that way.
Smokehouse almonds.
My sense of humor. My wife’s. My friends’. Yours.

Maybe in 6 months, we should do the opposite. Have an Un-Thanksgiving Day. We could throw turkey bones at people and things we’re NOT thankful for. What are you doing on May 26th?

The weekend was just for us. Me and my Ro.

A nice  hike in the snow up by Mt. Baker. Let the dogs romp without worry of MY dog would geting stupid with people. We slept in Sunday. Did some lazy’ing.

BUT..what happened with my pot roast?!
I was sure I’d prepared it perfectly. Veggies. Some onion soup mix.  And slow cooked in the crock pot for six+ hours. The roast appeared to be tender when I put it into the cooker. But..dang it all. It was mostly tough and chewy.

I was excited to be a good hubby. Make her a nice meal. Smellin’ up the house after a day of us off trapsin’ around.

What’s the secret? I thought it was supposed to be fool-proof. (Ken proof?!)

I’m proud to have been part of the crowd of people to welcome home Army Spc. Aaron Aamot.

Like Aaron, I also didn’t know the people that surrounded me. It didn’t matter. We all had the same thing in common. We wanted to pay our respects and offer a thank you to the young man we didn’t know. It didn’t require knowing those people, like it didn’t require knowing Aaron, to be proud of them..and most certainly of him.

We stood there on the Slater Road overpass waiting for a sight that I’m not sure we were totally prepared to see. As we waited in the chilly sunshine, we made small talk. Some laughter filled the air from time to time.

However, not a word was spoken when the motorcade approached and proceeded under us. It was awe inspiring from that vantage point. A long, proud, patriotic..and sad gathering for a fallen hero.

Not one person moved away from their “station’ for the duration of the motorcade.

And there was not a dry eye on that overpass when it was done.

I’m thankful for young Aaron Aamot’s service. I’m grateful for people like him who put themselves on the line. And I’m glad to have been there with others who shared the same feelings I have.

Ken

I’m ashamed to admit that it took untill my 40’s for me to really grasp it, and to be very grateful to our service people.

I wasn’t contrary to thankfulness. I wasn’t mean or disrespectful by any stretch. It took being in a relationship with an active duty Air Force woman. Ro and I started dating and almost immediately were separated by her deployment - my first time dealing with it. Then again she was deployed when we were newly married.

I’m a baby. We were separated for only 4 months or so, each time. A fraction of the time many, many others have to face. And yet the four month deployments were difficult. I missed her GREATLY. I love Ro for so many reasons. One of them is her sense of duty and the way in which she served with determination and her respect for the Air Force.

And for the first time, I had a new, closer understanding of what it is to men and women to sacrifice their “regular” lives and give tremendously of their selves.

So, to the men and women of the armed services, AND to their families, thank you very much. Not just on this Veterans Day, but on EVERY DAY OF YOUR LIVES.

I spent a good part of my Sunday (remember how gorgeous it was?) on some used tin. Plugging holes with caulk. Lots of holes. I didn’t want water damage on our stuff in our newly constructed storage shed.

It rained yesterday (Monday). I was happy about it so I could see what my results would be.

This score just in:
     Ken Richards    01
     Mother Nature  00