02/12/2024
I'll be honest with you, this is a hard post to write this month, but the thing that I'm feeling grateful for is the time I had with my stepfather, who passed away suddenly and unexpectedly last month.
I'm not going to sit here and say what a wonderful man he was because that wouldn't be fair to those of us that knew him. In truth, he was a difficult man, an ogre and a tyrant at times but I loved him regardless.
For all the pain he caused, he was also always there for me whenever I needed him, he was the first person I would call when I needed a pep talk or advice and he made sure that I knew how much he loved me, always.
So this December, I'm grateful for all the advice and wisdom he imparted on me over the years. I'm grateful that he taught me how to cook, how to use a drill, how to lay a fire, how to fish, how to shoot and eventually, how to set boundaries.
I'm grateful too that he might now be at peace and that with his transition, he will know that I loved him and that I'm sorry for not getting to tell him once last time.