#365Gratitude Day 328: Ich habe einen Freund in Übersee

For many years now I've been friends with ShyGuy from Germany.  I think we first became friends on Twitter, but have since moved to the occasional Skype chat, lots of Kik conversations, too.  I've met him in person at CapCon, the Chicago age player's convention, which he often attends.  I'm also friends with his sweetie, Kat Nichols, the wonderful creator of the very not-safe-for-work mmmdiapers.com.  

He's wonderful.  

We have amazing conversations, all the time.  He's deeply philosophical, and we sometimes spend an entire day noodling over some philosophical issue, together.   

Plus, he's got a genuine interest in what Ive got to say, and the projects and work which are important to me.  When I post blog entries, or tweet something, more often than not, he's the very first person to respond.  I really consider him to be a very close friend.  I wish we didn't live so very far apart, but I'm so grateful that technology and our mutual like for one another have allowed us to have the close friendship that we do.

#365Gratitude Day 327: Being Married

My wife Missy and I got married 7 years ago yesterday.  It's been a whirlwind ride.  We've had some really great highs, some really crappy lows.  We've seen one another through good fortune, and tragedy.

I wouldn't trade a minute of it.

My wife is amazing.  She's so good to me.  Every day we're together is a little bit better than the day that came before it.  

I know that I can be a challenging partner.  I'm ambitious, always involved in a million things.  I overthink the ever living heck out of everything.  (Why do I do that? See?)  I tend to dance to the beat of a different drum.  There are all kinds of social, sexual, and philosophical ways that I'm not the easy choice for a husband.

She sticks by me anyhow.  She's my greatest supporter.  She's kind, loving, and giving.  If there were black belts given for cuddling, or giving bubble baths, she'd have them.  Sometimes, when I'm being my littler self, she watches me with an amused, delighted, grin.  She loves all of me.

Being married to her is the single best part of my entire life.

#365Gratitude Day 326: The Littles Express

Right back when I first met him, my friend Moliére had this brilliant idea for a holiday event for age players, which he called the Littles Express.  We would take a holiday themed train ride to the North Pole, to meet Santa Claus.

I thought it was a brilliant idea.  I can't recall who suggested it, but one of us decided it would be even more awesome if I read The Polar Express to everyone on the train.  This year, we made a plan, and actually made it happen.

Where? WHY TO THE NORTH POLE OF COURSE!

We needed help though, and we got it.  Moliére and I were joined by Zorro Daddy, and our friends Smart Alex, and Squee in our Christmas Caper Cabal.  The five of us spent months on the details.  Zorro, who's a great guitar player, added a Christmas sing-a-long.  Squee stepped up to be our Santa, and did an amazing job of it.  Alex, Moliére and I turned the story reading into a sort of comedy show, involving the story, some crazy ridiculous signs, and a call-and-response interaction with the audience, facilitated by a not-so-subtle plant in it.  

We added a pizza party nearby after the ride, and a white elephant gift exchange which we supplied all the presents for, too.  

When the day came, which was this past Saturday, it went off beyond our wildest expectations. We had close to 40 people on the Express.  There was hot chocolate.  There were cookies.  There was singing, and laughing.  When the train pulled up to the station for us to board, white smoke billowing out of the engine chimney, I heard more than one little watching go, "oooooh!"

It was magical.

Things worked out mostly like we had planned, and when and where we had to improvise, that went off great, too.

Later that evening, Team Express unwound in a very hot hotel hot tub, as we did a post-event review and mutual admiration meeting.  Moliére drew me aside and gave me an enormous engraved silver sleigh bell.  When it rings, the sound makes my heart flutter in my chest.  

I'm so grateful to have such good friends, and that we banded together to make something so great.

#365Gratitude Day 325: No words necessary

#365Gratitude Day 324: My research assistant

Often in my writing I need to fact check, or do research. Just recently I needed to look up how to say "orange soda" in Chinese, a good recipe for chocolate cake, and in the past several days I've been investigating Ch'an sect Buddhism, and vegetarianism. 

The Internet is such an amazing resource for me.  Between factual pages, reference sites like Wikipedia, message boards, and social media I can go from no knowledge of a subject to enough to comfortably write it into a story. 

It's such an ingrained part of my daily existence, I usually just take it for granted.  

But really, it's amazing.