This is a time for material gift giving, for many of us. It might also be a time to consider the many gifts we have received through the year, and perhaps use this opportunity to appreciate people or situations that we were blessed with. So my question would be – what are a few things would you consider as gifts, and why? 

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    <cite> <a href="https://curiousaboutdata.com/2019/12/03/tsql-tuesday-121-gifts-received-for-this-year/">https://curiousaboutdata.com/2019/12/03/tsql-tuesday-121-gifts-received-for-this-year/</a> </cite>
  </p>
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Health

After a 2 year battle with what became a chronic illness, my wife was able to obtain relief through a doctor willing to tackle the severity of the situation and pursue the correct surgical procedure. For the one I love the most to become healed, there is no greater gift.

Opportunities

There have been a number of open doors for me professionally this year and in culmination, I am looking at a very exciting 2020. It was an afternoon in early July when I got the email that I was accepted to speak at PASS Summit for the first time. I read, reread, … rerererereread the email. The opportunity to talk about something I’m very passionate about (open source, data platform, development) at a conference of a highly engaged community was a highlight of 2019.

Teams

I participate and/or lead a few teams. On one hand, I hope to contribute and elevate the group’s productivity. On the other hand, I benefit greatly from the knowledge, candor, and guidance from my teammates. My daily core is the internal technology group spanning infrastructure and development. Earlier this year technology was elevated to the executive (what an awful word) level adding the formal “Leadership Team” to my resources and collaborators. With extracurriculars, the teams I get to interact with include the DSLUG Board of Directors and other open-source developers. We are so much greater as a whole sum than as individuals.