Month of Gratitude, Day 26: Friends . . . YOU!

I'm grateful for YOU!  

For being here, for supporting the site, for checking out what's going on with Bean Up The Nose Art products, and for buying them.  Thanks for being a virtual friend!

I'm also grateful for my friends in the real -- as opposed to virtual -- world.   All of whom deserve a big, fat, juicy "THANK YOU!" here today.  So, here goes!

For my "fifth grade friends" . . .  Lori, Diana, Jimmy and Miss Rathjens . . . I am grateful to have known each other so long, and through so many things.  It is unbelievable to me that we hooked up when we were 10 years old.  And here we all are.  YAY!!  

For ex-husband Vince and his wonderful "new" wife (of nearly 20 years) Wendy . . . I am grateful for the creativity, patience, loyalty and savvy with which we've been able to operate all these years, and for your fine spirits.  In a world where divorce typically wreaks complete havoc, I am so grateful for our friendship and the way we have been able to raise up those darned "kids" . . .who are getting to be about the same aged now as we were when we all met.  Holy cow.

For all friendships that have grown out of lawyer world . . . for your great ideas, your willingness to answer questions and spend time, your dedication to your work, and your capacities to improve mine, I am profoundly grateful to you Cliff, Dorothy, Gail, Jennifer, Jeri, Lainie, Miro and Morey.  And for all those years, all those years ago, and though we hardly see each other any more, thank you, Eric and Kathy, for everything.

For terrific neighbors in West Marin and on Whidbey . . .  Anne and Richard, and Mitch and Lynda and your lovely brood.  Thank you for your gentle presences, and being there for us.

For gym women extraordinaire, whose amazing strength -- of all kinds -- I am inspired by all the time.  Thank you, Arbella, Corey, Kim, Meshelle and Miyoko.

For folks who have encouraged me to write, and who have improved my writing greatly . . . Don, Walter, and Toni.  The honesty you find, and the balance you all strike, in your feedback is priceless.  Thank you!

For my riding buddy Katja, even when I don't ride any more . . . you are a wonderful, hilarious, smart chick with whom I am grateful to spend any amount of time.  And practice writing in French.  

For art and business women in Marin whose lives and work are constant sources of inspiration . . . Janice, Julie, Melissa, Susan, Virginia.  And again to you, dear Toni!

And to the peeps up on Whidbey . . . with whom I have REAL MAIL-ed, crafted, eaten, laughed, and spent most wondrous hours . . . Dana, Dea, Deb, Dianna, Jamie, Jeanie, Joe, Mary, Naomi, Rita, Ruth, Steph, Susan, Tracy, Tina and Vicki.  You are all terrifically fabulous-o!!!  I am so lucky that you all include me in your Whidbey world.

Thank you to friends and readers.  Thank you to all of you wonderful beings who make life interesting and possible.  I am truly grateful to YOU!!!