It's easy to be grateful when you have a ridiculous number of things to be grateful for

I give thanks every day for these people.

U.S. Thanksgiving was a month ago, but I tend to focus more on gratitude now than in late November.

I guess that's what the impending arrival of January 1st does for you. It's a good time to look back on the year that was, the year that will be, everything you've said and done, and the people you're fortunate to have around you.

It may sound strange, but this is an embarrassing exercise for me.

"Embarrassing" because I am blessed almost beyond reason. Actually no, not even almost. I am blessed far beyond what I deserve.

In all the things that matter, my cup overflows. I have done nothing to deserve this, yet here we are.

The people who truly impress me are those who keep on going despite trying circumstances. Whether it's health difficulties, financial troubles, the sudden loss of loved ones, the breakup of a marriage, or any number of the unfortunate things that befall us in life, I know so many who soldier on.

I admire them. They are heroes.

I have day-to-day struggles, I suppose, but nothing – nothing – like so many of the people in my circle have experienced or are experiencing.

I don't know how I would react if I were in their shoes. Probably not as well as they have, I can tell you that.

Every week at church, we compile a Prayer Request & Praise Report. The prayer request part, as you might imagine, lists church members, family and friends who are experiencing some form of adversity. Sometimes it's medical, other times something else.

I'm working to improve my health, but at the moment I have nothing wrong with me that causes any real difficulties. My heart and lungs work fine, my body does all the things I ask of it, my mind is still (somewhat) sharp, and I have no chronic pain of any sort.

Sometimes I think God put me in this position because He knows I am someone who would have trouble dealing with the things that plague those on the Prayer Request & Praise Report. For the moment, anyway, He shields me from all of this because He knows my weakness.

As I've often said, all of that can change on a dime. I'm not going to continue sailing smoothly through the rest of my life with nothing bad happening.

But things have been so good for so long that sometimes I forget that's not necessarily the natural state of things for human beings. Especially those not born into affluent societies with social safety nets or into loving families that support one another.

Until things take a turn, I'm going to continue being grateful because it's easy for someone like me to be grateful. Why wouldn't I be grateful?

The trick (the hope) is that I can maintain that gratitude if/when the rain starts falling a little harder.

Happy new year to you. I hope you, too, have much for which to be grateful in this life.

I hit an old guy milestone: Increasing the text size on my phone and work computer

Not long ago, I was standing in my office about to tackle a work-related task when I had a somewhat startling realization.

As I stared at my dual PC monitors, I realized the text was small and blurry. All of it, in every document I opened. Even the larger icons on my desktop weren't exactly crystal clear.

Resignedly, I went directly to the Windows settings app, clicked on "Accessibility," and increased the default display size to...well, something a lot bigger.

I did the same on my iPhone.

Suddenly it's like I'm reading a series of large-print books every day. The kind I used to see in the library and think to myself, "Oh man, I hope I never have to check those out."

Father Time so enjoys playing these little tricks on us.

Understand, I've been wearing reading glasses for the last 3-4 years, so this isn't exactly a new thing. But until now, I never had a problem seeing anything on a computer screen. Now I do.

It sneaks up on you, and one day you're blind.

Not literally "blind," of course, but these eyes of mine have definitely regressed a bit when it comes to reading small text and deciphering smallish images.

Another milestone on the road to old personhood. It happens.

In a couple of weeks I have my annual eye appointment. When Dr. Franey asks if I've been having any trouble with my vision, for the first time ever I'll have to say, "Well, now that you mention it..."

It's either that or else memorize the eye chart to save my pride.

I'm thinking maybe progressive lenses are probably the smarter choice.

(NOTE: I kid you not, on the day I wrote this, my afternoon snack included a handful of prunes. I love prunes, but still...prunes.)

In 3 1/2 months as a grandparent, I have learned I can still change diapers and calm a crying infant

My grandson Cal is doing great. He is great. I keep saying this, but I had no idea how attached I would get to him so quickly. It's a highlight of my week when I know I'm going to see him.

Before Cal was born, I wasn't sure how fast my baby parenting skills would return, or if they would return at all. But it would seem I had nothing to worry about.

For one thing, changing a diaper is like riding a bike. You do it a few thousand times as I did back in the 90s and early 2000s and it becomes awfully hard to forget.

You remember, for instance, how to open a fresh diaper with one hand and position it underneath the child while using the other hand to lift their butt by pulling their feet up. You quickly recall wipey techniques for fast and efficient clean-up.

And in the case of boys, you remember to cover them up so as not to get doused by an unexpected arc of pee.

All of that was fine. But it turns out I'm also still pretty good at getting babies to sleep.

I have, I think, a natural rhythm and bounce that allows me to calm little ones down when I'm holding them. I always had a knack for getting my own kids to sleep years ago, and it appears to have transferred to Cal.

Well, it's either that or else I'm just insanely boring and the kid can't help but drift off in my presence. Either way, I am the Baby Whisperer.

It is such a joy when Cal comes over and I go to take him out of his car seat. He looks at me for a second and then gives one of those big baby smiles that says, "It's you! I know you! Mom, it's that guy! Grandpa! I love him!"

To say my heart melts in those moments is something more than an understatement. That's when I can't wait for him to grow up so I can start spoiling the little guy properly.

Spoiling, in addition to diaper changing and getting cranky babies to sleep, is right near the top of the grandpa job description.

It wasn't a health "scare," but it was enough to get me to clean up my act

I write these blog posts about a month in advance, so the stuff I say isn't always up to date by the time you read it.

Not that that usually matters in a once-a-week family/parenting blog, where content tends to be evergreen. But as I type this on November 9, I'm interested to see where things stand for me health-wise a month from now.

Unlike many guys my age, I do see the doctor somewhat regularly. But when the calendar flipped to this past October, a full year had gone by since my last physical, and I wasn't in much of a hurry for another one.

There wasn't anything acutely "wrong" with me, but I knew my weight was too high and my diet was fair to middlin', as my dad used to say.

I didn't need a physician to tell me what I already knew.

I know, I know...even if you think you know what the doc is going to say, you still need to go. Just in case.

So I did.

But instead of my primary care provider, I ended up visiting the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine to see one of their docs. We had a good conversation about my history and broad changes I needed to make, and she ordered a comprehensive blood test.

In the meantime, she also set me up with a nutritionist and a health coach, both of whom have turned out to be very helpful.

When the blood test results came back, two things stood out:

• I was quite anemic. I knew this, as my iron levels have been pretty low for the last few years. Every time I show up at a Red Cross blood drive, it's a 50/50 shot whether I'll meet the iron/hemoglobin requirements to donate. I just never thought it was a big deal, so I never brought it up with Amber, my nurse practitioner. Admittedly, not a smart decision.
  
  
• Also, my Lipoprotein A level was high. Very high, actually, at 203. They want you under 125. The thing is, Lipoprotein A isn't like cholesterol or other markers you can influence through diet, exercise, stress management, etc. It's largely genetic, and there's seldom a need to check it again because it stays pretty static throughout your lifetime no matter what you do, at least as far as I understand it.

The anemia can be attributed to a number of things, and I'm undergoing additional lab work to figure out what's causing it.

As for the Lipoprotein A, I don't yet know what it means other than that a high number indicates a higher risk for cardiovascular disease. I'm going to see a preventative cardiologist to ensure my prevention strategy is optimized, which is probably a good thing when you consider I lost my father at 70 and my sister at 56 (my current age), both to heart disease.

Thankfully, I've already made significant changes to my diet. Lots of veggies (especially leafy greens) supported by protein at every meal, healthy fats, probiotic foods, etc. I've also cut down on the frequency with which I snack (no more than 2-3 times a day), and I keep 12+ hours between dinner and breakfast to allow my body more time to digest and heal itself.

Oh, and after years of drinking 3-4 cups of coffee every day, I'm down to one cup in the morning and that's it.

I'll also be working on better sleep and a more comprehensive physical activity routine, along with implementing breathing exercises.

I haven't even mentioned that the first round of blood work also showed that my HDL ("good") cholesterol was low and my LDL ("bad") was a bit high. Or that my A1C indicated I've been inching toward diabetes.

Taken together, all of the numbers brought about some long overdue changes in my routine, which is obviously good.

I'm just not sure what the high Lipoprotein A number will mean over the long term. For the moment, I'm just concentrating on living smart and healthy, one day at a time.

I know I'm not the only middle-aged man who has received a wakeup call like this, but I plan to be in the group that makes permanent positive changes.

I've still got too much to do in this life!

Headin' north with my son

Back in 2013, Jared and I drove to Rochester, New York, to watch an outdoor hockey game where the temperature at opening faceoff was 18 degrees (and falling). The NHL games we're seeing this week will be played in indoor arenas, so there's that.

My son Jared and I will be spending a week in Canada on what I've been describing as "a hockey trip."

Yes, we'll hit some tourist spots, but our main purpose in the Great White North will be to watch NHL hockey. Specifically NHL hockey as played by my favorite team over the last 33 years, the Ottawa Senators.

Many times I have told the story how I, a lifelong Clevelander, became an ardent Sens fan.

It started back in 1992 when I was a sports writer for The News-Herald, our local newspaper. The International Hockey League's Cleveland Lumberjacks had just arrived in town and I offered to cover the team for the paper.

Being at best passingly familiar with the rules and intricacies of hockey, I set out to learn as much as I could about the sport (which included taking ice skating lessons Sunday nights at the rink in Brooklyn, Ohio).

I also decided I needed an NHL team for which to root. Ottawa had just come into the league, and seeing as how I was fascinated by all things Canadian, I decided the Senators would be my team.

This despite knowing not even a single player on their roster.

I figured once they became good, I could say I had been a fan since the very beginning.

Admittedly, "good" has been somewhat elusive for the Sens over time, though they did have a nice run in the 2000s, including an appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007.

I have seen Ottawa play live about a dozen times over three decades in cities ranging from Chicago and Pittsburgh to Tampa and Columbus.

But never in Ottawa itself.

Until now.

Jared and I will travel first to Montreal to watch the Sens take on Les Canadiens at the Bell Centre, after which we'll make the two-hour drive west to Ottawa. There we'll see my guys face off against the St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers.

Finally, for the first time, I can proudly wear one of my Senators jerseys as a member of the home crowd, without fear that an opposing fan will toss beer at me when I cheer a Sens goal.

Well, I suppose that could still happen, but it doesn't seem as likely to happen there as it does in, say, Pittsburgh.

Jared and I have taken several sports-themed trips together over the years, but this one is the most ambitious of all. As I write this, I don't know what the weather will be like, so I can't be sure the long drive to Eastern Ontario and Quebec will be smooth sailing.

Or even doable.

Still, we already have the tickets and I've already booked the hotel rooms. So worst comes to worst, we'll fly up there if we have to.

That would be expensive. But after all, this is hockey.

It's serious business.