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Thank You

A gift

Thank you, everyone.

Thank you, raspy-voiced, chainsmoking high school student for showing me where the sheet metal shop was on my first day of junior high shops. I was lost and frightened.

Thank you Mr Isaacs, for pulling me out of class and chewing me out for quitting basketball.  It was so thoughtful of you.

Thank you Ms Shawcross, for phoning me years later and telling me you shared my old short story with your new class.  I’m glad they liked it.

Thank you Nadia, Lisis, Roger, Michael, Sherri, Gwynn, Ian, Jay and Alison for welcoming me with open arms into the blogging world.

Thank you, kind readers, for finding my words worthwhile. I appreciate it more than you know.

Thank you Milt Stegall, for making The Catch.

Thank you nameless guy who helped me fix my bike chain in the field beside the bowling alley.  I know you missed your bus for me, but you pretended you didn’t.

Thank you, John, Paul, George, and Ringo, for your honesty.

Thank you, faceless cave-dweller, for etching the first written ideas into a rock.  You’re my hero.

Thank you, hard, unforgiving world, for kicking my ass.  Thank you for making me flounder and suffer.  It was the best thing that ever happened to me.

Thank you, Panorama mountain, for bruising my ribs and putting me out of commission for six weeks.  I was getting cocky, and you straightened me out.  Maybe you saved my life.

Thank you, vain, affluent tourists whose toilets I cleaned.  You made me feel wealthy.

Thank you, John Harrison, for knocking on the front door on that first day in our new house in back in 1989 and saying, “Hi, I’m your new neighbor, wanna come out and play?”  Such straightforwardness is so rare.

Thank you Kim, for teaching me I am worth much more than I thought.  I just honestly didn’t know. And thank you for the invitation.

Thank you Chico, for being an adorable, rambunctious child and a wise Zen master all at the same time.

Thank you Alison, for teaching me how important it is to keep in touch with your friends, for hugging me extra hard at your wedding, and for infecting me with the travel bug.

Thank you Dad, for never — ever — doing a half-assed job at anything.  You just didn’t have it in you to be mediocre, yet you stayed so humble.  I just don’t know how you did it.

Thank you Mom, for everything.

Young Chico

Young Chico

Photos by Fazen and Alison Baker

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Positively Present April 16, 2009 at 10:06 am

What a great post! I’m totally inspired to do something similar on my blog. There are so many people to be grateful for and to and I don’t think I thank them nearly enough. Gratitude is so important. Thanks for giving me a reminder of that today!

PS – Chico IS adorable. :)

Jay Schryer April 16, 2009 at 11:07 am

Thank you, David. Just for being you.

Oh, and thank you for sharing *you* with the world via Raptitude. You’ve made the world a better place for all of us.

Roger - A Content Life April 16, 2009 at 11:14 am

David,

You’re welcome and thank you for starting such a beautiful blog!

You have a gift for writing and the world is a better place because of your blog. I KNOW all your blogging dreams will come true.

Good luck, but you don’t need it!

Big Sis April 16, 2009 at 1:55 pm

Thank YOU David for such a nice post. It made me cry. A “Do not read at work while pregnant and hormonal” warning would have been helpful :)

David April 16, 2009 at 2:46 pm

@ Big Sis — Haha, sorry about that. I made Mom cry too. I will add a disclaimer next time. So good to hear from you sis.

@ Roger — Good luck, but you don’t need it!

Thanks Roger, that’s exactly how I feel. : ) *crosses fingers*

@ Jay — That’s one of the nicest compliments I’ve ever heard, Jay. All I can do is continue to be myself. Thank you so much.

@ Positively Present — Chico is bigger now, but he’s still young and playful. I’ve never met a being so good at enjoying himself.

Lisis | Quest For Balance April 16, 2009 at 2:47 pm

Thank YOU, David… for always being so willing and eager to help the rest of us who tend to stumble through the little things each day.

Thank you for writing beautiful prose that lets me pretend I’m reading a manuscript at a coffee house in Paris, rather than sorting through seemingly endless information on the Internet.

Thank you for providing such a warm, welcoming oasis, where we can all gather and be our best selves.

And thank you for the crazy discussion about Smurfs on your Facebook wall. ;-)

David April 16, 2009 at 2:54 pm

Thank you for writing beautiful prose that lets me pretend I’m reading a manuscript at a coffee house in Paris, rather than sorting through seemingly endless information on the Internet.

Wow, another unique and beautiful compliment. I wasn’t fishing for praise with this post, I swear! Maybe one day you will read a manuscript of mine dans un café à Paris. I’ll see what I can do to make that happen.

Nadia - Happy Lotus April 16, 2009 at 2:59 pm

You are so sweet, I could just hug you! :)

Thank you, David, for being the person that you are and for having the courage to go after your dreams. Not many do and that is why there is so much unhappy people in the world.

I am grateful that I met you via blogging and that we are friends! :) You rock, dude! (how many lawyers do you know who say stuff like that!?) :)

Deanna April 16, 2009 at 4:21 pm

Thank you David for this blog….made me teary too and I’m not hormonal…
I’m thankful for old friends, great memories, and a kick ass lemonade stand!! :)

Tim April 16, 2009 at 4:32 pm

Thank you, as well, David. From the looks of it, your blog is pretty new, but you have provided some awesome content and have shared some great ideas. I was reading your bio about all of the searching, thinking and pondering that you did and thought of myself. I’ve been there before and I am there again now, but despite all of the negativity out there in the media, I feel tremendously optimistic. In the past two weeks, since I have been let go from my last job, I have run into a large number of people trying to find more meaning in their lives. Your blog is a great stop for someone looking for more meaning. Great job!

Alison | Quest for Balance April 16, 2009 at 5:25 pm

Thank you, David, for creating such a welcoming environment, for helping us with the technical challenges of blogging, and for joining us on our Quest for Balance. Thank you for your writing, which I enjoy more the more I read, and thank you for being such a kind person. The world needs more of them! –A

Sherri (Serene Journey) April 16, 2009 at 7:09 pm

David,
You have a lovely place here full of great ideas and different perspectives. Your writing is beautiful every post is an absolute pleasure to read. I just know you will do well and go as far as you want to!

Thank YOU!

matt April 16, 2009 at 7:16 pm

thank you for another awesome post so far with the ones ive read even archived posts youre at 100% awesomeness
and have inspired me to write my own list of thanks just to help realize those who have been a willing crutch when i needed it most.

Jenny Blake April 16, 2009 at 7:33 pm

This post is incredible. It’s a great reminder for all of us to say thank you to the people we love, to those who have helped us, to the universe/world/higher power for all the challenges in our lives, to our families and even to those people we just briefly crossed paths with who pointed us in the right direction. And thank you to twitter, blogging and social media for allowing people like us to cross paths. :D

David April 16, 2009 at 11:22 pm

@ Jenny — Hi Jenny, good to hear from you. Those brief visitors sure do add up to quite a bit of help, when you think of how many there are. I felt bad when I posted this, because I knew I was leaving thousands of people out. I just picked a small sample of the people who contributed to where I am now.

@ Matt — Thanks, 100% awesomeness is pretty awesome. I would like to see your list; if you don’t have a blog, feel free to come back here and post it in the comments.

@ Sherri — Thanks Sherri, I’m just getting started… : )

@ Alison — I’m always here, for any of you guys and girls. I’m no tech whiz but I’ll offer what help I can.

@ Tim — Tim, an attitude like yours is all you’ll ever need. The complainers and worrywarts will stall where you will thrive.

@ Dynamite Deanna — Good to hear from you Deanna. Thank you for your management expertise; we really did run quite a sophisticated lemonade operation.

@ Nadia — Thanks Nadia. Coolest lawyer I know, that’s for sure. Hugs are always free.

ann elise April 17, 2009 at 7:52 am

David, so touching!

Is this gratitude perhaps a result of your meditation experiment?

David April 17, 2009 at 8:06 am

Hi Ann Elise,

Honestly, no, it is not related to my experiment. I almost always carry a sense of gratitude, it just goes on vacation when I’m in a bad mood.

Josh Hanagarne April 18, 2009 at 5:09 pm

Dave, there’s nothing I love more than talking to other music lovers. You’ve obviously done a lot of deep thinking about your posts. I’ve been trawling through your archives and am really glad I was able to find your blog. I’ve added you to my reader. Keep it up!

David April 19, 2009 at 2:13 am

Hey Josh,

Good to hear from you. I am a huge music fan.

Your blog is unique and interesting, and I’m glad it exists. I can’t think of a better philosophy than “Don’t make anyone’s day worse.”

Josh Hanagarne April 19, 2009 at 12:08 pm

David, I should also tell you that I’m newly addicted to The Dresden Dolls. Have you heard them? I like the weird old-timey vaudeville vibe.

Jared May 6, 2009 at 2:48 pm

Gratitude lists! I love em’! Great post!

Jared’s last blog post..What Is Love to You?

Claudia May 16, 2012 at 5:26 pm

Thank you David!! A while ago i found your blog and I find your writing fresh and inspiring. Your words make me think AND they make me act. As a new reader I work my way through your older posts and I just reread an old piece of yours that made me immediately update and translate my CV as a first step to further persue my dream.

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