Most of you know that Stephanie, Jake and I moved to Washington DC this year. We traveled across country in a Ford Focus towing a U-Haul trailer. It was a fun trip and we saw a huge part of America. It will be a trip Jake remembers forever. And, by all accounts, we are settling in very well in this new place.

 But on this Thanksgiving, I want you to know that I miss our friends and family (Heidi, I’m going to hug you soon because you’re just down the road!). But I think I speak for Stephanie and Jake when I say that we all feel very blessed to have this opportunity to be in this place and experience so many new things, and meet so many new people.

As I count my blessings tonight, I know that I am grateful for each of you. I am grateful for my family. In fact, I am grateful for so many things some that I once cursed — gray hair, wrinkles, responsibility, graduate school, the National League East, running marathons. A close friend of mine once encouraged me to relax over a certain disappointment by saying, “It’s a long life.” And he was right.

Perhaps it is a long life so that through the passing of time we can have a chance to gain perspective on our disappointments and maybe a chance to see God redeem our mistakes?

I pray that each of you have a chance to thank your God, hug your loved one, and eat a piece of pie tomorrow. 

God bless you and Happy Thanksgiving 2010.