Gratitude!

Reading between the lines of my previous post, it should become pretty obvious that this just didn't happen on its own. Indeed, we had so much help from everyone that it boggles my mind just to think about it. We had people who:

• watched our kids while we packed / cleaned / moved / recovered from surgery / etc.
• made us meals
• helped us pack
• gave us gifts
• moved our stuff
• hosted a party for us at their house
• performed for us and our friends at said party
• drove me to work when I couldn't bike
• helped me build a storage area in our basement
• took our stuff
• came down from Minneapolis to take my paintings (twice!)
• put us up in their homes
• put up with us, in any home
• listened to us going on and on about ourselves ad nauseum
• and helped out with other tasks too numerous to mention.

Typing this list makes me very concious of the American myth that we can all go it alone. (Cue "My Way" by Frank Sinatra about now...) We like to think of ourselves as a nation of self made Marlboro Men (and Women) riding alone into the sunset, but we all depend on more people than we realize.