Gratitude

This is a scan of a card that I opened yesterday, before I went to bed. It was placed on the mantel during yesterday's party and I forgot about it until later that night. When I opened it, I found lots and lots of money with a note that said something very clever about what the money was for: care-giving cash for Sophie and for me.

This overwhelming gift was from six of my dearest, most special friends. I'm not sure how to honor them as they have honored me, except by expressing my gratitude. I'm grateful to Johanna for her rocking sense of humor and ability to cheer me up with her exclamations, for her daily morning phone calls, the kind that I just can't get enough of -- hours tick by as we talk about everything under the sun every single day. I'm grateful to Cara who befriended me and Sophie on instinct one day many years ago, whose gentle spirit and near-mystical relationship to Sophie is a source of great comfort and relief to me. I'm grateful to Diana for her steadfast cheer and friendship, for her soft, mothering ways. I'm grateful to Dorie for her no-nonsense practicality, for her forthright opinions and soft, soft heart. I'm grateful to Janet for her powerful advocacy for me and for Sophie, for living around the corner and tolerating the constant comings and goings of my boys, for her honesty and tolerance and curiosity to know everything about the world of disability. I'm grateful for Shannon for her irrepressible mirth, for her intellectual stimulation, for her gentle laugh and strong, strong support, always.

I am so blessed to know these women and can only hope and pray that I might reciprocate what they've given me, not just yesterday, in celebration, but always.

Thank you, Ladies!