Normally, I write these posts the night before Thanksgiving… after all, Thanksgiving remains my absolute favorite holiday. A time to gather with family (remember…. friends are the family you choose), express gratitude, and eat great food.
The gather part this year didn’t happen thanks to the pandemic. Losing the bakery and not seeing family/friends since February made it hard to focus on what we have to be thankful for… not as hard as when Ricardo was murdered, but honestly it’s been a shit year.
I do have so much to be thankful for… losing the bakery hurts, but it won’t kill us. I am grateful that Palner celebrated 20 years in business last month… 20 years is absolutely something deserving gratitude.
I cannot come close to express the gratitude I have for a healthy, happy daughter… who will be celebrating another birthday tomorrow. I’m also grateful for my family’s health.
I have amazing friends and family that did so much for my family this year. What the open source community did for my wife is something that I will be forever grateful (and huge thanks to people like Dave Horton, Lorenzo Emilitri, Mike White, Tony Lewis, and a few others who kept the bakery open for a couple months longer).
A horrendous, horrible hurricane season and I’m very grateful to report we didn’t even lose power, let alone anything worse.
Physically distanced, but thanks to amazing software from the open source community as well as the community itself, I’m grateful to not be alone. With matrix, I chat with friends daily… with Kamailio I keep a roof over my head and talk to people throughout the world… and with webrtc, I see my parents almost every day.
It’s been a tough year, and the road ahead still looks a little rough. I’m incredibly grateful to share this journey with you.
Happy Thanksgiving.