47 Gifts – Appreciating What I Already Have

Today is October 12th. It’s my 47th birthday. It’s hard to believe I entered this world 17, 168 days ago. I’ve been alive for 1,483,315,200 seconds. I’ve been experiencing things for 24,721,920 minutes. If I was being paid by the hour, my time card would say 412,032 hours. While it seems like a long time, it also seems like it’s gone by in a blink.

A few years ago, I penned this post called 45 Things I Know. It was aimed more at the things I’ve learned as opposed to the things I have. When it comes time for adults to celebrate a birthday, we all eventually reach that point where we don’t really expect or need presents any more because when you stop to see what you’ve accumulated throughout your life, you realize you have some pretty cool gifts already.

Here’s a look at mine…

47 Gifts – Appreciating What I Already Have

1. My mom – who’s been there for me all 47 years.

2. My dad – who’s wisdom & legacy will always be with me (By the way, if you have a father and you haven’t read the tribute I did for my father, you might enjoy it).

3. Ronda – 30 years my friend. 21+ my wife.

4 & 5. Riley & Ryan – I know I am biased but the two greatest kids a Dad could ask for.

6 & 7. Hogan & Callie – I know I am biased but the two greatest dogs a man could ask for. (By the way, if you have a pet and you haven’t read the tribute I did for my dog Hogan, you might enjoy it).

8 & 9. Jot & Kevin – Brothers for life. Friends for longer.

10. A good sense of humor.

11. My creativity.

12. Bacon. I am being dead serious. This is a gift the pigs of the world didn’t just give to me, they gave it to everyone…except vegetarians…and Muslims.

13. Chocolate – any form, any fashion.

14. Diet Coke – There’s nothing better than that first Diet Coke of the day.

15. Being able to attend the University of Florida.

16. Being able to graduate from the University of Florida.

17. Being able to call the University of Florida my alma mater.

18. Delta Upsilon Fraternity and all of the incredible friendships I enjoy to this day.

19. Golf as a hobby.

20. Golf as a career from 1991 to 1994.

21. Beer in general. Cold beer specifically.

22. Beer as a career. It was a blast to work for the local distributor of Miller and Coors products here in Central Ohio. To paraphrase the Hair Club for Men commercials, “I’m not just a salesman, I’m a customer too.”

23. A career in real estate.

24. Being a Realtor w Coldwell Banker King Thompson.

25. Being a branch manager w Coldwell Banker King Thompson.

26. Being able to serve in my current role as Director of Agent Development w Coldwell Banker King Thompson & Coldwell Banker West Shell, which allows me to teach with passion and enthusiasm, instilling confidence and excitement in my students.

27. My real estate friends & colleagues.

28. College football.

29. College basketball.

30. Seeing my school win 3 National Championships in college football…so far in my lifetime.

31. Seeing my school win 2 National Championships in college basketball…so far in my lifetime.

32. Columbus Blue Jackets hockey.

33. Visiting 41 of the 50 states.

34. DVRs.

35. Remote Controls.

36. ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN U, ESPN Classic and the new SEC Network on ESPN.

37. A great memory – for names, places & experiences. Truly a gift I get to use each and every day.

38. Billings, Montana; Ithaca, NY; Gainesville & Homosassa Springs, Florida; Cleveland & Columbus, Ohio; The cities where I’ve had a place to live.

39. 1801, 1834, 4288 & 4510 and all the other address I’ve been lucky enough to call “home.”

40. The freedom I enjoy as a citizen of the United States of America, with appreciation and thanks to the men & women who have served and still serve our country today.

41. The internet and all of its awesomeness.

42. The opportunity to travel. It always reminds me how big the world is.

43. Social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube – which helps make the world a little smaller.

44. My readers of Carp’s Corner.

45. Building relationships.

46. Solving problems.

47. Having fun.

Thinking of all the gifts I have in my life is quite humbling, makes me appreciative and feel very lucky. It also has made me hungry for some cake.