Time Out for Thank You

On her truly awesome blog, new author and cancer warrior Kairol Rosenthal recently wrote a post about how to say thank you to people who help those of us in need. This post really got me thinking about so much that has been done for me and Pete and I decided to not only comment on her post but I also thought I'd take a little time out to thank some of you for the meaningful things you've sent to me or us recently.

From the bottom of my heart, I'd like to thank...

* Everyone local who has already brought or has committed to bringing, through Carol's email, us meals in the coming weeks! We have felt an enormous weight lifted from our shoulders just by not having to worry about what to fix for dinner every single night of the week! These comfort food type meals have not only filled our stomachs but they've warmed out hearts!

* Carol and Dad, of course, for so carefully crafting, organizing, sending and maintaining the aforementioned meal schedule! It is so helpful to be able to just pull open an email to see what we can expect in the coming weeks ahead! And it's been super fun for me to describe to her just who these people are who are responding to her requests! I'm always up for a stroll down Memory Lane!

* Mamacita for picking up, washing and returning our laundry every week! This has helped us enjoy our time together much better on the weekends, and we're able to be out and about instead of stuck in the house washing, drying, and folding or hanging clothes. And your visits on Mondays or Tuesday mid-day when you return the clothes are so nice! (We gave her Mother's Day weekend off, though, and washed all our own clothes!)

* Betsy for sending me a mysterious box, out of the blue, filled with dozens of stamped pieces to rifle through, examine, and play with! There are pieces of cardstock, bookmarks, ink pen wrappers, tiny sticky note holders, buttons, magnets, and pins all stamped by people I don't know, collected by you over the past several years. I think I might add some of them to gifts from now on, or maybe even attach several of them in a sort of collage format. It's one of the most unique packages I've ever received and I love it!

* Aunt Bonnie for the two novels, pair of comfy sweats and the angel cookie cutters (with instructions for Peter!) that you sent to us while we were in Houston! I am finally at a point where I can read these types of dramatic books again and I can't wait to dive right in! And watching Pete pound, roll, and cut out and then bake the angel sugar cookies was really entertainment itself!

* I know she won't read this so, dear Fairbanks, please pass this on to Grandma: her handmade cinnamon rolls that she keeps making, packing and sending to me! I toss them in the freezer (after offering one or two of them to the rest of the Kellers, of course!) and enjoy every bite every other week or so. I don't think I've ever outright asked her to make them for me but somehow she just seems to know when I run out and am ready for more! They are delicious and made from the heart!

* Lady Draven crafted a beautiful strand of non-denominational prayer beads just for me and she even sent them to me while we were still in Houston. It's a small set of beads and charms, one of which says "believe" at one end, and I cherish it more than words can explain. I've been meaning to tell you, Draven, that I slip the round "believe" charm onto my pinky finger and clutch the rest of the beads in my palm whenever I go in for tests or results; and especially on our trips to Houston. There have been times that I've gripped them so hard in prayer (more like begging) as I walked down the halls of MD Anderson that I've ended up with imprints of the charms or the beads in my skin! They have been a small but enormous source of strength for me, and I thank you for creating them for me.

* Kairol's knowledge and inspiration whether through the poignant posts on her blog, the chapters in her book Everything Changes: An Insider's Guide to Cancer in Your 20's and 30's, her broadcasts alongside Matthew Zachary on the XM/Sirius/internet radio show: the Stupid Cancer Show, or her personal emails just for me. She has a wealth of information that she seems always willing to share with anyone who needs it! One time, she even saw Pete's comment on his Facebook page regarding his frustration with our health insurance company and she immediately gave him links to valuable resources on the web that helped him design our appeal!

* Carol and Auntie Carolyn for making me the most fashionable and comfortable hospital gowns ever! I'd like one of you to walk me through making one so that I can make several more to donate to the Cancer Clinic and Infusion Center! My fairy and froggie gowns are all the rage when I wear them!

* Dad for helping me design, dig, prepare, plant and water our little flower and vegetable garden in the backyard last year. The annuals are well on their way already to blooming full force and the veggie plots are eager to be filled with new plants this Spring! The hose extention and super long drip line he installed for us has been a life (and spine!) saver when it comes to regular waterings in this almost bone-dry climate.

* Maggie's daily text messaging, long chatty emails that only a BFF could understand, and offers to Skype with me so that I can watch her and her childcare kids interact...these have been great ways for us to cross the many miles between us and help me cure the loneliness on some of these boring weekdays. Plus, when she sends me random stuff like this, the laughter that ensues releases so many endorphins, I can't help but have a great day!
Oh, and her most recent visit to Colorado when she spent a half-day with me playing at Build-A-Bear-Workshop and eating ice cream for lunch! :O

* Carrie's treasured "BELIEVE" piece of folk art that was part of a pair which she treasured for years, is now sitting in my kitchen window and greets me every morning, reminding me of that simple but powerful word that become a sort of daily mantra for me. Oh, and also the little bity silver charm with the same beautiful word enscribed on it, dangles from my charm bracelet that I wear every day, even on days when I can't leave the house!

* Carol's funky huggy dinosaur she gave me last December in Houston. I have him on a sort of altar on which I've collected several other totems that give me peace and strength whenever I need it! This guy was one of the first things on it, though, and he gives me a giggle every time I look at him!

* Everbody's random emails of support and suggestions! Candace recently sent suggestions that we contact our congressman with a plea for his help in getting our insurance company to stop this nonsensical denial of Avastin and just let me have it! Oh and she also gave me something really good to read! ;) Then there's Caryn (a friend of a friend who is now my own friend!) who engages in lengthy emails where we discuss the many challenges of optimism, anxiety, fear and relief when it comes to doctor visits, testings and awaiting results.

* My pal Jacki (Rasmenia to the rest of you) for discussing the addiction to writing that we share! Mostly, though, I really like how she cracks me up constantly on her own blog or her Facebook page and then she gets serious and genuine in our private emails back and forth. "...in accordance with the prophecy," right?

* The Fairbanks, all of you, for your snail mail cards, funny emails, pictures and updates of the kids and, most recently, old pictures of Dan with a mullet and Marti standing by her very first car - which she crashed in a matter of hours the same day she got it!

* Nurse Gari who never fails to save me in a pinch by FedEx'ing a prescription because I forgot to renew it much sooner! And keeping me updated on what books he's reading now. And always being there with an answer or a guess when I call or email him about a strange new side effect of the chemo and such!

Maybe they were small gestures or something just sent on a whim but all of these things do stand out in my home and in my heart and they represent a little part of you in my daily life. And somehow, someway that helps me get through the bad days and enjoy the awesome days, too! So, even if you're not on this list and you did something for me lately, believe me I know it and I thank you thank you thank you all!