Happy Thanksgiving!

If I listed all the things I am thankful for I could be here all day but here is a short list:

I am thankful for the best Mom anyone could ask for. She has shown me who I want to be by the example she sets every day.

I am thankful for my Dad. He has left me with his sense of humor and an ability to appreciate a good story.

I am thankful for Meghan. I can't imagine not having my sister and best friend rolled into one.

I am thankful for my extended family. There are family members I now talk to almost every day that previously I had gone for years without talking too. I love my family and I hope they know they can call me if they ever need too.

I am thankful for my friends and coworkers. I am surrounded by good people every day some of you are like family to me and I enjoy your company.

I am thankful for my house. Even though I am not living in it yet. I have it. Next month will mark one year of mortgage payments down with 29 to go. I have projects planned for the yard and I look forward to spending many years making wonderful memories in that house!

I am thankful for the memories of those who have passed away. Everyone we meet whether it's just for a short time of for years is important. I like to think of every interaction as a chance to learn about myself and others. Good or bad our interactions can teach us about how and who we want to be.

I am Thankful for my life. It isn't what I planned but nothing really ever does go as planned. I have my family and friends, my job, and my house. I have 31 wonderful years of memories filled with fun and love and I look forward to many more.

Kolobok Kolobok!

I am a firm believer in the thought that things happen for a reason but when we were on a train going to Coney Island and it stopped two stops short I completely forgot that I thought that and was just annoyed at the delay. We exited the station and started walking though Brighton Beach towards Coney Island. We passed by a store that I had bought a couple of Russian Nesting Dolls from in the past. I was thrilled to see this store because I thought it had been heavily damaged during Super Storm Sandy and didn't know it had re-opened. So of course I couldn't just walk on by. I went inside to look around at the different items. I was looking for a Nesting doll that was unique so I wasn't necessarily looking for something with a signature (though obviously that is a bonus and would entice me to spend more than for an unsigned doll).

At first I was looking at a cute doll that was a Santa Claus figure and was in the shape of a cone and the center piece was a Christmas Tree. Then I saw a larger Nesting Doll in the shape of a bear. So I opened it up and inside was a fox. I opened that one up and there was this strange little round thing with feet. I was very confused by the little thing. We asked one of the employees what the story was behind the little figures. She responded "Kolobok Kolobok." We were confused. And seeing our confusion she repeated "Kolobok Kolobok!" She walked off and another employee came over and told us Kolobok was a pastry and it was from a Russian fairytale. Then the original employee came back with a book of Russian of Russian Fairytales and opened to the page with the story of Kolobok.

Kolobok!

Once upon a time an old man and woman lived in a village.

One day the old man said to the old woman: "Grandmother, 

go scrape in the flour-tin and sweep the corn-bin,

perhaps you will get enough flour to make a Kolobok."

The old woman went off and scraped the flour-tin and swept 

the bottom of the corn-bin and she got a coupe of handfulls of flour.

She mixed the flour with sour cream and shaped it into a

Kolobok- a kind of little round bun.

Then she baked it in the oven

and left it on the window sill to cool.

The Kolobok lay thee for a good while

then suddenly it got up and rolled.

It rolled from the sill to the bench,

from the bench to the floor,

across the floor to the door, 

it hopped over the threshold and into the hall,

from the hall it rolled onto the porch,

from the porch into the garden, and then from the garden it rolled out the gate.

Further and further it went ....

The Kolobok rolled down the road until it meet a Bear.

"Ah Kolobok, Kolobok, I'll eat you now!"

"Don't eat me, Bear! I'll sing you a song:

I'm Kolobok, Kolobok!

I was scraped up in the flour-tin,

swept up from the corn-bin,

mixed with sour cream into a bun,

baked in the oven till I was done,

then left on the sill till I cooled some.

I ran away from Grandfather, 

I ran away from Grandmother too,

And I'm sure I'll have no trouble, Bear,

running away from you!"

And off it rolled down the road,

so fast that the Bear could only stare.

The Kolobok rolled down the road until it met a Fox:

"Ah Kolobok, Kolobok, Where are you going!"

"I'm just rolling along the road."

"Kolobok, Kolobok sing me your song."

And the Kolobok began:

"I'm Kolobok, Kolobok!

I was scraped up in the flour-tin,

swept up from the corn-bin,

mixed with sour cream into a bun,

baked in the oven till I was done,

then left on the sill till I cooled some.

I ran away from Grandfather, 

I ran away from Grandmother,

and I ran away from the big bear too

And I'm sure I'll have no trouble, Fox, running away from you!"

But the Fox said:

"What a fine song. But, you know I am rather hard of hearing,

Kolobok, be so kind as to sit on my nose and sing your song again."

The Kolobok hopped onto the Fox's nose and sang the song.

But the fox said:

"Kolobok, be so kind as to sit on my tongue and sing your song a little louder

just one more time!"

The Kolobok hopped onto the Fox's tongue and -SNAP- 

The fox gobbled it up!

And there it is Kolobok! Kolobok!

If 30 Years Doesn't Come

I got some horrible news last week. One of my coworkers had passed away. He was only 36. I have worked with him for five years and I think the best way I can sum up my feelings is that the world was a better place with him in it. He was kind and caring and always so sweet. He would always say hello and do this little bow and ask how you are doing. And now the world is sadder for it's loss.

Whenever you lose someone it causes reflection. But when you lose someone that young and so suddenly I think it makes you pause and reflect even more. I mean there are so many questions from basic practical questions to questions that cut to the core of who you are and how you live your life. For example a good practical question "Do I have life insurance?" And then the deeper questions. Am I really living or am I just going through motions? If there was no tomorrow would I be happy with what I have done? Do I do my best at everything I do? Do I enjoy every minute and get the most out of it?

It makes you wonder if today was my last day would I be satisfied? Or if today was one of my friend's or family's last day did we say what needed to be said? Do I let the people in my life know how I really feel? And if every interaction could be the last I have with someone did I act in a way I would be happy with?

I want to enjoy my time, my friends, and my family. And I need to live my life in a way that those people around me know how I feel

I want to slow down and take my time so that, like my coworker, I can make time to say hello and ask how someone is doing. I mean so often I will walk by someone with may be a nod or quick eye contact. But have I taken the time to know the people I work with? Because you never know when you could run out of chances. And then you are just left with regret.