47 year old teacher has 47 points of gratitude.

During New Years Day, I decided to take stock of my life. I know I have had a blessed life:  lots of lucky circumstances. I tweeted a list of 47 things I was grateful about. Here is the list:

"I turned 47 yr's old last week. Considering things I take for granted but should not do so."

Number One: Thanks for being born in open minded California coast


Number Two: thanks for two distinct, smart and caring parents.


Number Three: being educated in a functioning school system and graduating from UC Santa Cruz debt free


Number Four: thanks for being able to live, study and learn in Mexico City as a youth


Number Five: thanks for being guilt free about being gay in Mexico, US and Europe.


Number Six: thanks for a strong, healthy body and curious, absorbing mind.


Number Seven: thanks for never being unwillingly unemployed and for the myriad of career options over the past 25 years.


Number Eight: thanks for Hugo, Robert, Juan Carlos, John and Beto: all in preparation for 14+ yrs with Roberto.


Number Nine: thanks for living in Santa Cruz, Mexico City, Genova Italy, Barcelona Spain and San Francisco: all great places!


Number Ten: thanks river kayaks, public tennis courts, and Masters Swimming


Number Eleven: thanks for Massimo, Fritz, Julia and Leann for supporting my tumultuous (at times) 30's.


Number Twelve: thanks Adelina for showing me the real reasons to be a teacher


Number 13: thanks Buena Vista Immersion School for letting me explore my teaching passions.


Number 14: thanks Apple Computer for 25 years of digital existence.


Number 15: thanks that I was able to afford my SF house


Number 16: thanks for good coffee at the right times


Number 17: thanks to Cuba for sending such great people to my life.


Number 18: thanks for that rainy day Roberto came to share Gloria Estefan with me ( and much more )


Number 19: thanks for the many, many, many fantastic books I've read over the past 40 (!) years


Number 20: thanks for the 15 years we had with Jeffrey, our faithful and patient dog.


Number 21: thanks for the number zero: without which I would not have my career.


Number 22: thanks for Star Wars (yes I really said that)


Number 23: thanks for being able to teach Algebra at this time in history!!!


Number 24: thanks to Obama, even if I am frustrated at times, he is SUCH the improvement over the previous pres.


Number 25: thanks for 70 degrees today in Palm Springs, CA


Number 26: thanks for long summer breaks since I was a little kid up to now.


Number 27: thanks for not being sick at all this year. Not even once. Not even a hint.


Number 28: thanks for always having what I needed and never really wanting more than that.


Number 29: thanks for Tracy Chapman, Rocio Durcal, Juan Gabriel, Joan Armatrading, Elton John and others


Number 30: thanks for 25 years of collegial interaction with so many educators


Number 31: thanks for Fiddler on the Roof, Westside Story and Cabaret.


Number 32: thanks for summer in Sitges when I was 31 yrs old: lived not to regret, ever


Number 33: thanks for One Martial Arts, Kenpo Karate and Prof Beliso, Sifu Howard, Sifu Moreno, Mr. Jones and my fellow karate students!


Number 34: thanks for SF AIDS Project and SF General Hospital's care for Beto 15 years ago.


Number 35: Thanks for Creative Publications opening my eyes to the beauty of mathematics education


Number 36: thanks for RENT, on stage, all four times.


Number 37: thanks for Ellen, Will and Grace, Golden Girls: towards a world of greater acceptance.


Number 38: thanks SF for starting the gay marriage debate, thanks to Calif Supreme Court for trying to extend it


Number 39: thanks for iPhone, Twitter, blogs and the increasingly more important PLN.


Number 40: thanks for being credit card free for 8 months w/o suffering


Number 41: thanks for all those lazy hours in our PS pool during Spring break


Number 42: thanks for Suze Orman. ( yes, really )


Number 43: thanks for those disco years, new wave, classic rock and so many Spanish language ballads


Number 44: thanks for a strong sense of personal integrity.


Number 45: thanks for my annual ski trip with my 9 yr old so


Number 46: thanks for the quiet moments late at night when I can sit and think things out, usually, at least


Number 47: (last one) thanks for 47 great years, 23 teaching years and and many more exciting ones awaiting to be discovered.