Today, tomorrow, a lifetime of Sundays

I live in a place of four seasons. Today was clearly autumn, but a warm wind pushed red and orange leaves through the air like driving snowstorm. Leaf drifts piled up on the curbs and covered the newly raked grass with each gust. My son stood in awe, amazed and yet sweetly naive about how beautiful it really is. To him, it's normal because it's new. My wife has a spark in her eye. It peaks out from a place where her three-year-old spirit hides. It makes me feel as warm as the day.

I count friends on both coasts and smattered in the middle of the country. They are people who choose to believe in me when either I won't or fail to give them good reason. They offer me opportunity when I don't ask for it and encouragement when I need it. Though hard to accept, it's a safety net I could never bring myself to request. I know if I fall, they will be there to catch me. Some of these people are as much brothers and sisters as they are friends. Having such an extended family--the kind that gives without expecting anything but friendship in return--makes every reunion as sweet as if it has been 20 years since the last.

My dad didn't realize he was dying until he was already living again. It took him a couple of years to realize he wasn't dead or about to be. Now, four years later, he is shooting in the low 70s on hard courses. My mother nearly cries with joy every time she sees my son. It seems she has found new purpose. If I have given my parents nothing else, I have at least produced something that makes them smile. In a couple weeks, I get to see my brother again. The only thing that compares with having a brother for a best friend is being able to spend time doing things we both love on regular basis.

I need for nothing else. I have a healthy son, a beautiful wife, the best friends I could ever want, and a family that has given me all I have ever needed or wanted. The only thing I lack is a sense of confidence in myself, and I know that no one else can give me that. Better though, I feel like I may be close to finding it or something close enough. With that will come peace. However slow it comes, though, I know I am the luckiest person I've ever known.

For these things and more, I am thankful today, tomorrow, and a lifetime of Sundays.