Saturday, April 23, 2011

T is for Thanks

Every day I stop to think how incredibly thankful I am for what I have in my life. Wonderful and supportive family and friends, a roof over my head, and lots of love from the people who matter most.  But I rarely take the time to thank people individually for being the wonderful people they are.

Time to fix that.

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Beloved Husband: for his unflagging support, even when he reads my horrendous early drafts. Thanks for being a wonderful husband and father to our kids.

My critique partners: Julie Hedlund, Megan K. Bickel, Juliette Wilk, Valerie Larson-Howard, Christie Wright Wild, and Kellie DuBay Gillis. Thanks for all of your wonderful feedback on my work. I don't know what I'd do without you.

My Berlin writer friends: Jen K. Blom, Astrid Paramita, and Amber McPhee. Thanks for the support, encouragement, and girls' nights out.

My 8th grade typing teacher: Yep, you read that right. In 8th grade, I wasn't so keen on my fifties hold-over teacher. She was strict and, well, she kind of scared me. I never in my wildest dreams thought that thirty-minute drills filling pages with pqpqpqpqpq (moving only the pinkies) would ever, EVER come in useful. But they did. Because I can now type fast enough to keep up when my muse is on a roll and the story is flowing. And it's all thanks to her.

There are others. Lots and lots of others. But I'll tell them in person. :)

What (or who) are you thankful for?

11 comments:

  1. You know what? I had an 8th or 9th grade typing teacher. At the time, you only took typing seriously if you were going to work in an office which I was not. So it was so surprising that the 2 subjects I took which I have felt were most important to me were Latin and TYping. Who would have thought?

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  2. Jeanne: Funny how that works, isn't it? :)

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  3. I'm thankful to God for all His blessings in my life. Health, family, friends, work, art, nature, beauty, creativity, knowledge, wisdom, peace, joy and love.

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  4. It's "Terima Kasih" in Malay Alison. Literally it means "please accept my love"

    I'm thankful for my family, my friends (including blogger friends like you), and for the Good Life.

    Grandpa
    Life on The Farm

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  5. That was a really nice gesture!
    I'm thankful for a lot - especially on this Easter weekend.

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  6. It's so nice to thank the ones we love.

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  7. Taking time to be thankful is always good.

    I'm starting up a 'Critiquing and Supportive Crusaders' program, where participants in the Second Crusade can find other writers to exchange critiques with or form supportive critiquing circles. If you're interested, come by The Kelworth Files to check it out!

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  8. Wait, is that where "Mind your Ps and Qs" comes from? Your 8th grade typing teacher?

    Great sentiment today, Alison. Especially since most people try to get all their thanking in on one day in late November...

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  9. Nice post.

    I am also glad I had typing but must confess that I had a very nice teacher. Thanks to that class I got my first job as a secretary for a lawyer. Now I am at home and my daughter is always amazed when she watches me type so quickly.

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  10. I love your list of thankfuls, Alison. I have a long list, too, but mainly I'm thankful that there are so many people who love me--this because I come from a very large family!

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  11. Oh, I'm so flattered to be on your list. And same to you!

    We also have something else in common. I am SO grateful for my typing teacher. Who knew then how critical that skill would become to every person (not just secretaries).

    I'm also thankful that my dad made me take typing, even though I didn't want to.

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