LONG OVERDUE...

This is a recent 'screenshot' from my iPad.

Many of you are aware that I am now living in Thailand. I have been here since the end of August and have much thankfulness to report about my stay so far. BUT...

 

In preparing for November's theme, Novemember??? yikes where did the time go, I could not let another day pass without acknowledging the many wonderful people and events that were a part of my farewell stateside.

 

I'm afraid if I name names I'll leave someone out - you know like at the Grammys. I do however carry each name, each person, each memory in my heart.

 

So... please accept my long overdue THANKS

 

THANK YOU -

to everyone who offered space to store my things

to everyone who offered a ride after my van decided to call it quits just weeks before the move

thank you for every chat over coffee

thank you for the so many thoughtful gifts

thank you for providing me with a place to stay

thank you for feeding me, mentally & physically

 

A few extra special THANK YOUS -

 

THANK YOU to my coworkers, my friends, for supporting my decision, for cheering me on, for 'getting me' (it's not an easy task), for the wonderful farewell party, for thinking of 'my people' in your planning and for the peace of mind I have knowing that you too will care not just for them but about them. THANK YOU for this...

goodies for 'my new people'

You guys ROCK!!!

You may notice or not notice the S'mores candy corn. Yummy - I'm sharing the rest (true love) but that bag... well... MINE.

 

To my friends in Rotary both old friends, Salisbury, and new, Cambridge. THANK YOU for allowing me to share my story past and future.

 Thank you for your service to communities across the world.

 

To my father's friends. THANK YOU from me and my dad. To his Thursday night friends I can think of no better company to have spent my final night in Salisbury with. To his dearest friend - THANK YOU for making this possible...

 

 

To My Family...

THANK YOU for being GOOD people

Ours is not the biggest and perhaps we don't see each other as often as we'd like but...

what matters is the love is there and I THANK YOU

During my last month in the U.S. I was able to see the sun rise in the East and set in the West with...

sooooo much in between.

 

As I walked along the Sonoma Coast beach I spotted something wash ashore.

A starfish...

My favorite parable is about this very being.

I share it often as it relates to my own journey of 'service' and I share it now with each of you as it relates to the role you have had in serving me...

 

While walking along a beach, an elderly gentleman saw someone in the distance leaning down, picking something up and throwing it into the ocean.

 

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, picking up starfish one by one and tossing each one gently back into the water.

 

He came closer still and called out, “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”

The young man paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean.”

 

The old man smiled, and said, “I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?”

To this, the young man replied, “The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”

 

Upon hearing this, the elderly observer commented, “But, young man, do you not realise that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can’t possibly make a difference!”

 

The young man listened politely. Then he bent down, picked up another starfish, threw it into the back into the ocean past the breaking waves and said, “It made a difference for that one.”

 

Please know that each of you has made a difference in my life...for all of this and so much more

THANK YOU