I thank you...

Thanks to the teachers, bosses and parents who are proud of kindness, respect and dignity.  Thanks to the leaders who encourage happiness and spiritual fulfillment.

Thanks to the people who cherish and understand human adversity, and who are there for you during the bad times as well as good.

Thanks to those who accept and love emotional messes, and to those who empower us to to be honest with ourselves, truthful to the world and not feel guilt or self-loathe when we come across obstacles that would otherwise embarrass us.  Thank you to those humanitarians who care about life above all else and who live by example and who treasure and recognize sacrifice, hard work and growth.

Thank you to the spouses who show love and support to their wives and husbands when things get overbearing in so many ways.  Thank you to the parents, grandparents, spouses and people who have lost anchors in their lives yet still wear a smile; you show true faith; I want that faith...it's contagious.

Thank you for just being you and letting me be me. I might not always be pleasant or "pc" and you might not always agree with me, but still...you let me be without being too judgmental and I thank you for that because I can't help who I am.

Thank you to those who have been honest, who have spoken their mind and disagreed with me and who have put me in my place when needed; we all need to be humbled otherwise what is growth and learning?

Thank you for continued blessings and life lessons.  Thank you for my family and I can't thank you enough for gifting me this amazing role as a parent to my only son; raising him, teaching him, loving and encouraging him has been the most amazing journey for us as a family.  I am grateful and in debt to the world; I'm doing what I can to show how thankful I am, but sometimes it's hard because it's means more when it comes naturally and from the heart, so I hope I am living a life that shows I take little for granted.

Having mom live with us for the past 3 years has taught us a lot and has brought us closer together as a family - we have had our ups and downs and challenging moments, but we have to show that caring for her is our way of saying thank you and is definitely learning experience.

When you deal with a person who's experiencing dementia, you can see where they're struggling with knowledge. You can see what they forget completely, what they forget but they know what they once knew. You can tell how they're trying to remember.
Walter Mosley