This Thanksgiving is a special one, which may seem like an odd revelation considering I'm sitting home alone while my family enjoys a turkey dinner without me some three-thousand miles away. No, it's not a celebration in the traditional sense, but I still feel thankful none the less.How many of us are lucky enough to marry someone with the courage and selfless enthusiasm to quit their job and give up everything they own to sail a 40-foot boat across an ocean to unknown destinations with an infant child and an aging lap dog? Crazy, I know. But, traveling the world by sailboat has been a dream of mine for a very long time, and I spent many years before marriage preparing for such a journey.
But, it was always just that -- my dream. Before she met me, Millie knew nothing of sailing. She didn't stay up late with her nose buried in sea stories, visualizing perfect sail trim in trade-wind conditions. It wasn't her ambition to cross an ocean under sail and drop anchor between coral heads in the white sand of some South Pacific island. She didn't hunger for the challenge and personal sacrifice required to live and travel on a small boat.
No, those were my aspirations, my goals. But, she embraced all of these things when she agreed to marry me, and, although reluctant at times, she set aside her own dreams to live mine for a while. And, for that, I will always be thankful.
Happy Thanksgiving and a very happy birthday to my loving wife.
