Happy Thanksgiving From BHGP

Good morning and a happy Thursday to you all. For the vast, vast majority of you, this means time with family, time off from work, and time to reflect on what enriches your lives.

I can't speak to everyone who writes at BHGP, but I think I know enough to try -- and if I left anything out, well, that's what a comment thread is here for. And speaking of which: let's not skimp on thankfulness today, regardless of whether you're the first person to suggest something or not. If you're the 30th person in the thread to give thanks to your spouse for marrying your idiot ass, be the 30th person to give thanks for that, y'know? This is a time for honesty, compassion, and good will, not impressing anybody.

That all out of the way? Good.

So here's what we at BHGP are thankful for.

First and foremost, we are thankful for the loved ones in our lives -- the loving family we're born with, the companions who graciously make us feel special, and the network of friends who provide us with the outlets that keep us sane. Together, they all choose to make every second of every day worth it for all of us.

Also, we are thankful for a network like SB Nation who has not only provided a platform for our borderline incoherent ramblings, but has actively encouraged it and has thrown a dollar or two our way for it. If BHGP were a job, it wouldn't even be legal by child labor standards in terms of pay, but it's not a job, not ever. It's a labor of love.

We're thankful for the thousands of people who come to this site every day, whether it be to learn about the Hawkeyes or to laugh about the Hawkeyes or to laugh at the Hawkeyes or to laugh at us. And to the commenters, who have turned this from a website full of cheap jokes about the Big Ten to the best community since Community, we are indebted beyond belief.

And lastly, as the picture above should probably tell you, we are immensely thankful to the people at the University of Iowa Children's Hospital who approached us a year and a half ago and asked if we wanted to help with Iowa Touchdowns For Kids. We had no idea that it would result in over $20,000 pledged by the BHGP community in the very first year and over $30,000 total from us alone -- and altogether nearly half a million dollars in two years for the Children's Hospital and its brand new addition. You, the BHGP community, are a major factor in the building of the new Children's Hospital addition, and soon you'll be able to see it and be proud of it every time you're in Kinnick Stadium.

We are, by the way, coming to the end of the regular season, and Touchdowns For Kids is a regular season-only fundraiser. Iowa has 38 touchdowns right now, and will likely be at 40 or above by the end of the game. So there's not really a lot of uncertainty about what a pledge of $1 or $3 or $5 per touchdown will mean for your bottom line, if you've got it to spare. There's also no uncertainty whatsoever about what your money will go to: construction of the new UI Children's Hospital expansion. Not to BHGP, not to the fundraising staff, not to the rest of the hospital. Every penny is for the new expansion. And if you've enjoyed your Thursday with family and want to make it possible for other families to be as happy, healthy, and whole as possible, please click right here. And have a happy Thanksgiving holiday, friends.