Love, Mom

2/16/1945 -- 2/27/2006

Thank you...

For getting it: Cameron
For coming over the first night, and for letting people know: Dan M., Jen, & Medina
For buying me Kleenex: Dan M.
For sleeping over, buying me ginger ale, doing my dishes, & folding my laundry: Medina
For coming to the visitation: Maria, Matt T., Kristin, Beth, Jen, Dan M., Rachel, Lucie, Grant, & Courtney
For coming to the funeral: Maria, Matt T., Medina, Morgan, Jessica, & Matthew
For hooking up his magical boxes and wires to my cell phone and recording Mom's voicemails onto CD: Matt T.
For telling me funny stories about Sammy while Matt was busy with the above: Maria
For wearing all black: John
For making sure I had groceries when I got back to DC: Rachel & Beth
For hosting a sleepover my first weekend back so I wouldn't have to be alone: Kristin & Medina
For listening while I cried (and cried and cried and cried): Cameron, Kristin, Medina, & Rachel
For baking zucchini bread and mailing it to me from New York: Ree
For inviting me to Toronto and promising to visit me here: Ian & Becca
For the peace lily: Keigh and my friends at the library
For donations to the Neuropathy Association: Morgan & Katy
For donations to the American Diabetes Association: Jessica, Matthew, & my friends at the library
For a donation to the American Stroke Association: Kate
For a donation to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, plus a very thoughtful letter: Matt S.
For adopting a tiger in Mom's name through the World Wildlife Fund: Jeff & Tamara
For buying a sheep in Mom's name through Heifer International: Medina
For a donation to the Late Onset Tay-Sachs Foundation: Sami
For a donation to Pine Street Inn: Meagan
For a donation to So Others Might Eat: Jen
For going with me to check out apartments: Beth & Dan M.
For helping me pack and bringing me flowers: Medina
For helping me pack and making me dinner: Dan M.
For helping me haul stuff to the new place: Cameron, Jen, Keigh, Rachel, Dan R., Jessica, Matthew, Mary, Kristin, & Michael
For helping me transplant my garden: Jessica & Matthew
For helping me unpack, alphabetizing my CDs, not getting on my case too much regarding the fact that I alphabetize my CDs, and entertaining me: Medina & Dan M.

And to all of the above folks (plus dozens of others) for the cards, emails, phone calls, and love. And for the invitations to dinners, concerts, movies, and other fun stuff -- such things were everyday occurances before, but now they serve as much needed reminders that my life is still worth living, that there is a lot more out there I want to experience, that I have friends who care what happens to me and my family, and that I'm not ready to give up just yet.