Because I’m thankful

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I don’t expect any of you to actually be reading this on Thanksgiving, but I thought it would be great to post this on the actual day. While we’re all sitting down to the most incredible meal of the year, I think it’s important to think back on what the last year has brought us and how our lives have suddenly changed, for better or worse. With this thought in mind, I bring to you my List of Things I’m Thankful For in 2009:

New Year’s of 2009 was spent in Boston with one of my very best friends Mollie and her husband Adam. Mollie is one of those friends that I’m thankful for from here to eternity. It’s a very interesting situation I find myself in with this young woman: we went to high school together but have spent the last 7+ years with at least 16 hours of distance between us. During those years, we never kept in touch to the point that we knew what the other was doing on even a semi-regular basis. We may have caught up over the holidays if she spent some time back in Ohio and I wasn’t on tour with Glee Club, but for the most part we didn’t play huge parts in each other’s day-to-day life. However, she asked me to sing at her wedding and naturally I accepted and found myself in a the beautiful Harvard Chapel singing “Sunrise, Sunset” from Fiddler on the Roof and “There is Love (The Wedding Song)” by Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul, & Mary. It was a whirlwind weekend in which I didn’t get to spend too much time with Mollie. In order to kind of make up for that time, I decided to visit her after I graduated from school and take in some Northeastern winter beautifulness. When I called Mollie to let her know I had purchased my plane ticket—the first time we had actually spoken in God-knows-how-long—she didn’t pick up the phone with, “Hey Nick!” but rather “You’ll never guess what’s on the radio right now!” Naturally, I knew the answer was “Happy Holidays” which she and I danced to in Chorale for two years; it’s kind of “our song”. For this and many other reasons I am thankful for not just Mollie, but all the friends I have that I don’t need to talk to everyday or even every week or month, but whenever we can and nothing can change. You all know who you are. Thank you all for your support over the last year—it hasn’t gone unnoticed.

After returning from Boston, and subsequently 10 days in NYC, I came back to Ohio and found gainful employment back at Max & Erma’s. Much like Mollie, I basically picked right back up with this group of people that I had only worked with for a handful of months several years ago. However, this is not about them. On several different occasions when I could get out of Max & Erma’s, I was able to make some trips to Lebanon, OH, and Hurricane, WV, where I have come to know and love two groups of students that are all incredibly talented, terribly funny, and ultimately the biggest factors in making the decision to move out here difficult. Here’s why: I showed up in Lebanon in the middle of October 2008 as a student teacher and left feeling as I was a member of a huge family in this community. In January 2009 I went to Hurricane with a choreographer friend of mine to see what this show choir was all about. My job was to watch, however, by the end of the rehearsal I was kind of calling the shots and telling them what was and wasn’t working. It felt exhilarating to have the attention of these kids and they ACTUALLY LISTEN! When I returned to Lebanon in March to emcee their show choir competition, I spent some time with their show choir and the same thing happened. It was incredible. I felt accomplished, intelligent, authoritative, and—not too sound egotistical, but—powerful. It was in these moments that I knew I had actually done well in school and could be a choir director like I had been trained. However, ultimately the dreamer inside me led me out here. But I would like to take this opportunity to thank those students for proving to me that I am better than I would let myself believe. Additionally, I can’t wait to see you all again in March at Lebanon’s Second Annual Show Choir Classic—as long as they’ll have back as emcee…

More than anyone in the world, I think my decision to come out here has hurt my mom. Not that she isn’t abundantly happy for me, but it happened all of a sudden and I don’t think she was quite prepared when it happened. In the time I’ve been here, I’ve spent several hours on the phone with not only my mom, but my brother, sister, and dad. My brother Andy recently went back to school and as such we have resumed our routine of him writing a paper and me proofreading it for him and giving him a few tips for the next paper which inevitably end up there. My sister Laura is currently finishing up her last few months of cosmetology school which is becoming heavily daunting as the days wane. However, I have noticed such a huge difference in her in the last few months. Without my knowing she has grown into this incredibly independent and intelligent woman that has job offers and opportunities for a career. There are days when I regret not being around to see this change actually happen, but I’m happy to know that it’s actually taking place. My dad has recently begun trucking and while it isn’t everything he always dreamed it would be, I can tell he’s trying to make the most of it and has some pretty great stories to tell—which, in the end, is the most important part. It’s the stories you remember, not how much a certain situation sucked. My life out here would be pretty pitiful if I felt my family wasn’t doing anything back home without me. I’m thankful they are part of my life and for their (sometimes) unflinching support. I’m so proud of my family and can’t wait to see them in a month. The next few weeks are going to be so unbearably painstaking as I await that magical afternoon when I get to leave on a jet plane and get home just in time for Christmas. Please let there be snow!

While I miss my family terribly, I can’t deny that I have found myself a family here in NYC. I feel incredibly fortunate to have come across my job and I am happy to say I love my job and the people I work with. They are my best friends and the ones I get up every morning for. If I didn’t have them around at a job that while I love it causes me much undo frustration because of difficult people, I would quit. So, ladies and gentlemen of the HB, thank you for being my NYC family!

Just now I came to the realization that no matter where I am I tend to find a family of sorts: Club at Miami, the community of Lebanon, HB in NYC, etc. For this Thanksgiving, since I won’t be home, in some ways home is actually coming to me. I’m very fortunate and happy to say that my friend Missy is currently in NYC to see her son march in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with his high school marching band (a trip I made myself in high school with the same marching band). So, I guess I’m thankful for my many families!

And finally, thank you all for reading this. Here’s to the Happiest of Thanksgivings, the Merriest of Christmases, and all the best for a Fantastic New Year filled with nothing but Awesomeness!

Happy Adventures!