With all of my family and guests gone or asleep after a big Thanksgiving Day at my house (17 people), I reflect on what I am thankful for.

• My relationship with my God, Jesus Christ.
• My wife of 21 years (today).? What a good woman, and what a help she has been to me.? Among many other things, she helps me focus on what is truly important in our short mortal lives.? At the church that I met her at, she was regarded as the “prize” of all the young women there.? I can tell you that their opinions were right.
• My eight children.? Some do better, some do worse, but in aggregate, they are all doing well.
• My congregation; good friends all, and they are a real support.
• My friends, including the readers of my blog.? We all need friends.

Now for the broader stuff:

• Though our civil liberties have been degraded by the misguided “War on Terror,” we still have significant liberties in the personal, political, religious and economic spheres.
• Our economy still prospers, even amid bad monetary and fiscal policy.
• Development in the developing world is screaming ahead.? As (classical) liberal economic economic policies are embraced across the globe, poverty is being reduced globally, which is something dear to me.
• I haven’t made a lot on investments this year, but I’m still doing adequately.
• I have several possibilities for how I will work as I labor to support my family.? (Perhaps an announcement coming soon…)
• I’m grateful that my views of the Fed, residential real estate, and the debt markets have largely proven correct.
• I’m even grateful for my losses; they keep me humble, and teach me a lot about investing.

That’s what I am thankful for; I hope you have it as good, or better, than me.