Dear Mom,
Thank you,
- For pulling out the Kitchen Aid and a chair, and teaching me how to make really yummy chocolate chip cookies
- For being patient with me every time I make a mess
- For a great jungle gym to play on outside
- For keeping the ceramic painted heart I made you in kindergarten in your jewelry box so I thought it was just as special as your gold
- For letting me play dress up with your old clothes, jewels, and shoes
- For letting me and my friends climb all over our outside gate and fence
- For decorating scrapbooks for me when I was little with cut outs, love, and cuteness
- For buying me hoards of books from the school scholastic newspaper order form
- For letting me take gymnastics three times a week
- For a zoo of animals: cats, dogs, floppsy bunny, fish, and Jeff's ole' reptile collections
- For snorkeling at Sharks Cove and beach days to the North Shore
- For budgeting with Dad, to send me to the best private school in the state (even though tuition was more than some college tuition's!) for the first four years of my education so that when I did go to public school, I was a year and a half-two years ahead of all the rest of the students and they had no curriculum for me
- For ice skating lessons even if it meant expensive skates, leotard, and classes
- For advising me to read the last of the really great _________doodles
- For always taking pictures
- For baking every flavor of Christmas cookies we could think of and letting us decorate them anyway we wanted
- For a unexpected special drive to Upton because I was late and didn't want to take the bus
- For indulging me with ridiculously priced dresses we picked out together for every dance starting in 8th grade. Most girls shopped with their friends. I always went dress shopping with you, coming out for you to give me the, "ew no, try this one" or "that's it!" culminating with the grand finale wedding dress. You always made sure I had the works complete: hair, nails, shoes, fitting, hose, purse. I hated it when you were flying when I had a dance and you weren't there to help me get ready. Remember me begging you not to go?
- For trips to Warren Dunes
- For taking me to musicals, plays, shows, castles, and art museums all over Europe
- For every international multi-cultural toy
- For slumber parties when you hadn't slept all night and just came home from a trip
- For making every birthday and holiday magical in only the way that you can
- For roses when I "became a woman"
- For taking me to Elder Beerman's for my first perfume Beautiful, peach lip gloss, and rose blush from Estee Lauder
- For taking us all over the world with you
- For never making me work during middle school or high school
- For snowy Christmas scavenger hunts
- For forcing me to finish college applications before I could leave the house
- For driving all around Michigan to take me on campus visits and interviews
- For letting me spend my summer taking marine biology classes in Hawaii
- For giving me the thrill of seeing my name in your large script writing in my mailbox. All those hand written letters that made me feel so good my first few months away from home at College
- For a special cheer me up visit, just because I was sad
- For knitting me scarves, blankets, hats, baby blankets, and everything else!
- For Thanksgiving in Germany, Holiday in Argentina...just because and meeting my Joseph in the bush of Kenya
- For being my favorite person to co-host a shower
- For teaching me about plants
- For Chicago pick ups so I didn't have to ride the bus home
- For vegan treats and accepting my crazy ways
- For spending my last child free month with me doing baby crafts, watching love movies, eating, and playing. I know now, we'll never get that time back and I'm so thankful we got to spend it together
- For tulips and daffodils planted by you so every Spring is a bit like home in Michigan
- For going to church all by yourself every Sunday
- For being a model of service to others
Grandma,
Thank you,
- For taking us to the library and check out tons and tons of books
- For sending me to Language Arts Camp in Van Buren
- For stopping everything you were doing and playing a game with me whenever I asked
- For reading to us, and having us read to ourselves every night before bed
- For giving up golf games, bible studies, time with Grandpa, and taking care of us, waking us up so nicely with your yummy cut up grapefruits and eggs
- For swimming with us in the lake
- For all your "lectures"
- For balanced home cooked meals even though it meant you had to spend the day in the kitchen
- For cleaning up after us-constantly!
- For letting me drive your car
- For taking me to VBS every year
- For treating us to roller skates in your driveway, bikes down Flanders Place, badminton at the lake, tennis with your friends, brown cows on hot summer days, heavy piggy banks for us to count and keep the collection, and letting us sleep by you every night even if it made you go to bed earlier than usual
- For math drills so I was always in the top of the class for multiplication, division, subtraction, and addition
- For taking me to Chicago to see Monet and musicals
- For teaching the discipline of work and play, balance in life, enjoying life and giving it your everything
- For your yummy country cooking
- For being the rock in our family holding everything together
Ma G,
Thank you
- For surprise letters and gift cards hidden in bathrooms for me to find after you visit
- For Target runs
- For eating anywhere even though you barely eat and can hardly find an option on the menu
- For yogurt parfaits in pretty dishes in the refrigerator waiting for me
- For stocking up on papaya before I visit
- For never forgetting to send a holiday package, card, and call or text
- For always answering, "yes" when asked for instant, emergency help for trivial and not so trivial things
- For hunkering down your car with Santa's workshop for Christmas celebrations
- For photo placemats, pet stockings, family calendars, and personalized homemade rice krispy treats made in four unique batches for each different kid
- For flowers, tiki's, and a videographer, making sure our rehearsal dinner and wedding were over the top memorable.
- For holding your tongue and being patient in trying times
- For shopping runs, Chinese feasts, and dessert goodies on every family trip
- For watching Shadden so I could have a break between feedings
- For coming early to the hospital because we needed Mom there
- For extravagant family cruises
- For sleeping on a couch in a house with 2 cats!!! ;)
- For advocating for animal rights, saving the earth, and raising a boy with a tender tender conscience filled heart
- For welcoming and accepting me into your family
- For standing up for me and my role in Bobby's life
- For doing ALL the backstage work for every family function (putting it together, researching, programming, and running it!)
I love you more than words can say. Everything you did and do means the world to me. I'm one lucky cat because of you!
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