Early last summer with a month of overlap between two rental contracts for homes just a few minutes apart I was able to move all our belongings bit by bit over a few weeks to our newly rented house. I had one task left to put the big teak beds frames in the old house back to their original bedrooms.
It was all under control. And then the summer went crazy and I didn’t have the strength or ability to do this on my own. Overwhelmed with the task on top of a sudden collapse of everything else around us, I needed help. I put out a simple call on a neighborhood social media group hoping for a couple of helping hands to meet me the next morning.
I was overwhelmed by the turnout. The task was done in just a few minutes and I had to do very little more than point and direct. As we finished I stood there in front of a gathering of people that dropped their morning plans to help. Their support suddenly meant so much more than lifting heavy furniture. I was overwhelmed with emotion and gratitude as I thanked them for their help and what they all knew it truly meant at such a difficult time to simply be there.
That was the beginning of a year that was full of such moments. And I would be remiss now to not make a bit of an accounting of my gratitude.
Thanks to friends and neighbors that showed up with hours notice to help me move furniture and hold me up in an hour of need more than you will ever know.
Thanks to hugs, waves, coffee meet ups, hellos and then goodbyes from so many on along Ramkhamhaeng 164.
Thanks to Sara and Said for evening walks in Perfect Place. It almost made the place perfect. Sara knew our final “yard sale” was also a chance for us to see friends for the last time and took over the check out so we could be present with others. And then they threw us a farewell party that we’ll never forget.
Thanks to them again along with Kevin, Elisia, Gretchen,Tim, Kathy, Richard and others for so many late night laughs and Koh Chang lazy days until sunset in the pool.
Thanks for conversations of care and support with Debbie, Owen, Robyn, Ben, Sarah, Shasta, Dan(s), Chris, Madeleine, Kelly…. and this list could get very long. Even the emails I received will be precious forever.
Thanks to ultimate frisbee friends who abandoned the lush school grass for the neighborhood mud so Harry and I could keep playing.
Thanks to Win and Jan who let us start the new year moving into their home. Jan took over English classes with the kids that created memories and skills for life. Win made sure we kept smiling. We stuffed their home with suitcases, soda cans, shoppings bags for Singapore and a good share of teenage angst.
Thanks to my parents who helped us find confidence to get our first real home. And take a car for seven months. We were blessed to have hours and hours in their home where, once dad finished showing his favorite youtube disaster videos, they shared stories from their lives, travels, family, art, and a fair share of commiserating with politics. Our kids listened quietly and much more carefully than their cell phone screens probably indicated.
Thanks to my siblings. Mark and Dale met us at the airport and then ran away quickly so we felt safe returning in the midst of the pandemic. Mark and I were able to meet and discuss the continued organization of dad’s work and I had a few precious days “helping” Dale with a wiring job. In true form, my time with Andrew was highlighted with two days of driving to the desert, rigging cameras to a weather balloon and then chasing it down hours later in the middle of the night. Sally’s visit was short but great as always to connect about the intersections of our lives. And we crashed at Rachel’s house far far too many times where she always had food, warm blankets and full control of the tv remote.
Thanks to Ellie who helped us find our home and navigate an INSANE real estate market. And TIA for the closing early next year.
Thanks to Anna who walked and talked to Nadia each morning and let me join after an extra 10 minutes of sleeping in. If I had to name a life coach I don’t think anyone else could better fit the role. Following her advice from English class in 11th grade until now has only brought me blessings.
Thanks to Lant and Diane who so very generously let us stay in their amazing home. We watched the migrations of elk, coyote, deer, so many birds and the arrival of spring from the windows of their mountain meadow home. Concentrating on homeschool was helped by the retreat if not sometimes distracted by the stunning miracles out the window.
And above all thanks to my family. To Nadia who kept an open mind to possibilities and led the organization for a priceless year of learning that we’ll never forget. To Harry and Norah who were patient with the parents as teachers and even sometimes admitted it was fun. To Maren who we always knew was in control and on top of everything in her life halfway around the world entering one quarantine after another at university in the Netherlands.
There are surely many many more to thank. The danger of starting to write them down is the knowledge that I can’t completely list all the people and moments during the last year when my life has been blessed by the helping hands of others. Thank you!!!