Gratitude

This post was a long time coming. It's been in the works for weeks (I started it on Dec. 11). It's such an important post to me because it truly defines all that I appreciate about the community of friends we have built here. We are loved; we are taken care of; we are respected. In the same way that we all rush to provide meals for a friend who's had surgery, so did our friends come to our aid recently. In a manner full of love and genuine caring, our friends picked us up when we were low. And we are so very grateful.

Many of you know that finances have been tight around here, and we've been incredibly lucky to have a large savings to draw from. The savings was for our house down payment ... oh well. It's lucky we had it. When it was gone, things got a bit sketchy, and that's when people came out of the woodwork of our lives, blessing us at such a time. It is truly amazing, in my opinion, that people still reach out in this way. I can only hope, and firmly commit to pay it forward from now on, that I will respond in kind when those I love have their own needs. What a lovely holiday season it has been for us - quiet family nights, home-cooked back-to-basics meals, and the feeling of being held in a big hug by our friends and family. Thank you. Thank you all!!