Family

I’d like to take a moment here and express gratitude for a few people in my life beginning with my two wonderful girls who inspire and challenge me every day to be a better version of myself. I am so thankful for what they have taught me, for the facets of love that I would not know or understand without them. I am so fortunate to have them happy and whole, to see hear laughter underneath the makeshift tent in the living room. I love our lazy weekend mornings in bed and potluck dinners on the countertop bar. There have been difficult times, and I am grateful for their companionship as I continue to learn how to navigate all of this alone. My children truly could not be more amazing. They are my light.

I am thankful for an extended family who has chosen to look past our differences and instead show me nothing but unwavering support. I want to thank them for the warm meals they have brought over when they knew I needed it most, the heavy lifting of boxes when life demanded a move, the text messages reaching out to let me know I was on their minds. They are my rock.

(Thank you Grandpa Rob for enduring the abuse showered on you by my second born. Your love for her will be one of her greatest memories. Thank you, Kenzie, for swooping in during those moments of chaos and bringing calm to our seas.)

I am so fortunate to have a mother who is also my best friend, my confidant, the one who never rolls her eyes because I’ve called with yet another crisis. I can only hope that when my own children are my age and they have news, whether good or bad or some ungodly combination of both, news that they desperately want to share with someone, that they will immediately think of me as I do my mother. I love my mother in a way I love no other person in my life. She is my peace.

I am so happy to have Dane and John LaCaze weave their way in and out of my day. They are as much a part of my family as any sibling, and their generosity to me, my children and especially to my dogs cannot be overstated. I would have long ago collapsed under the weight of all my responsibilities if John LaCaze were not manning this ship, assessing leaks and plugging holes so that I can concentrate on taking care of the necessities. They are my teammates.

I am grateful to have someone who even from a long distance knows when I need him to call, who when near knows the perfect way to hold my face, knows never to let go of my hand. He is my love.

This has been one of the most challenging years of my life, and these people are the ones who helped me survive it. I am so lucky.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. You, too, have helped me this year.