Where ever you are tonight, stop to take a moment to think about those things that have made your life better. Those things that you are thankful for. Even the unexpected blessings.
I find that the last year has put me in a reflective mood. It seems like I am more or less constantly reflecting on where I am, what I'm doing and what I've done. Sometimes I discover something new about myself, or those around me. Sometimes I accept a truth I've denied to myself. Sometimes I simply marvel at the passage of time and how my life has changed. Mostly though, I find myself thankful for where I've ended up.
I think it's safe to say that the me of 20 years ago not only wouldn't have, couldn't have, imagined the me of today being where I am right now. That younger me would no doubt be a little disappointed with some of the choices I've made. That's cool. I know that kid, he's kind of a dumbass. I don't have a high regard for his opinion. I think I made the right choices. When I watch this little man grow, I know I made the right choices.
I am very thankful for my boy, for my lady, for my family. I hope, whomever you are, regardless of your circumstances, that you have something to be thankful for. I do, and I want everyone to feel as good as he makes me feel.
Logan has started walking. Citizens are advised to remain indoors and lockup their women folk.
Even though he's appeared to be on the very precipice of learning to walk for close to four months now, Logan still has yet to take more than a few steps at one time. Those few steps are rare, and frequently performed just in the peripheral vision of his mother or I leaving us to wonder if it was a hopeful mirage, or the same kind of confirmation bias that leads people to believe they saw a UFO.
He does, however, love to push around chairs and the like. They slide easily over the tile and make the most horrendous noise, something I believe he enjoys. His favorite pusher is a little stool that Grandpa Ron got him for his birthday. It used to be decorated with letters that spelled out his name. He fairly swiftly removed the vowels for some reason, leaving the stool labeled "L G N." The stool is light enough, and small enough that, unlike the dining room chairs, he can easily change direction to navigate around the kitchen and dining room.
His stamina for this game is sometimes staggering. Last night he did more than a dozen laps around the kitchen island, screeching in joy nearly constantly. The frequency with which he entertains himself in this fashion leads me to believe that the sole reason he's yet to actually walk, is to irritate us. To keep us on the edge of our seats. To extend the drama like some twisted J.J. Abrams version of the first year of his life. At any moment I expect him to conclude the drama by standing up, producing a meerschaum pipe, and quite plainly begin to explain the complications with time travel and avoiding paradoxes that eliminate your own existence.
The babbling you can hear him engaging in during that video comes and goes, ranging from single phonemes that have begun to take meaning, to lengthy dissertations on topics that only he seems to understand. The detail and length of the babbling has reached the point that at least one preschool teacher asked if he spoke English, presuming that his lectures were being given in another worldly language. I guess it's also possible that he's communing with spirits, but for the time being I've chosen to believe that he's simply invented his own Nellish language to satisfy a need to discuss topics that interest him. Judging from what he points at during these orations, the topics include; the physics of airplanes in flight, social behavior of household felines, the mysterious applications of car keys, the principles of electricity as used in residential lighting, bananas, the hidden agenda of screen savers featuring fish, and physical benefits of stair climbing exercise.
Or, I guess, he could be just babbling.