I am thankful I didn’t spend a lifetime before I understood that true love travels through rough valleys and rugged mountains.

I am thankful that my marriage was not made in heaven but in the heart of a special woman, Edna, who I can reach with smiles, tears and fears.

I am thankful for the impression of me as an all-knowing, all-powerful, all-in-all man that my kids, Ijeamaka and Ogonna, have.

I am thankful for my parents, J. C. and Madam J. C for teaching me how to think for myself.

I am thankful for my siblings who pick up the slack as I strive to scribe an all-summer slam.

I am thankful I am able to make sacrifices in spite of the embarrassing moral authority they try to confer on me.

I am thankful for my annoying habits. Otherwise, I would think I am perfect.

I am thankful for those who chew me out. They love me. Even though neither them nor I often believe it.

I am thankful I am good at something. I just have to find out what the hell that thing is.

I am thankful that I have hot heart and cold head and not the other way round.

I am thankful to the angel who tapped me, woke me up, and said to me, “‘no’ is also an answer.”

I am thankful that in my loneliness lies the seed of my uniqueness.

I am thankful that dripping vanities of this world have not found a way to chip away at my conscience.

I am thankful that I have the courage to follow my own paths. Otherwise, I would have been stuck in highway traffic.

I am thankful that even though I see God in his grace everyday but recognize Him not, He sees me covered with filth but still recognizes me.

I am thankful that in spite of everything going on, I still smile at every impending wonder.