Thank You

Ah, look what a little kind note will do ... inspire me to love and say "thank you" more.

Patricia Fowler

Four years ago April, I lost my Mom. She and her sisters worked summers as chambermaids-at the Bright Angel Lodge- at the Grand Canyon. My Mom loved the West, particularly Arizoooooona as she would always say, drawing out the OOO’s. I thank you, Mom, for loving me and all eleven of us. I feel that the West is in my heart-because of you. And as I type, your silvery bangles tinkle a song t you…. If I win a tee, I will forward you old time 1940’s pics of my Mom at the Canyon! Please choose me. I never win anything…

Linda Mahoney

I’m using this opportunity to give a long overdue thanks to my younger sister, Brenda. She is fighting stage 4 cancer: I should have told you sooner and more often how very thankful I am to have you in my life. As the older sister, I always felt I should be the one forging the way and setting the example. Instead, it seems that you have had to be the tough one and I can’t begin to tell you what an inspiration you have been to me. It seems that when things are hardest, you are the one who is there. When the grandparents wore out the patience of other family members, you were the one who stepped up with kindness and compassion and tended to their needs with tenderness and love. When you lost your 47 year old husband to a sudden heart attack, you stood solid and moved forward to your life. How much easier it would have been for you to wallow in self-pity and bitterness. After more than 2 years of fighting cancer, I never hear you complain. Your arms are covered with bruises from the multiple injections and despite the overwhelming tiredness, you go to work and worry about training someone good to take your place if the need arises. You mustered the energy to go to the Hill Country so that we could enjoy the display of wildflowers this year. I know that it would have been so much easier to spend your weekend catching up on rest to start another week, but you managed to make the long drive so that we could spend a little time together enjoying the natural beauty of God’s world together. You are the greatest blessing a sister could receive. Thank you with all the love in the world!! Your sister, Linda

I just want to say Thank-you to my friend Connie for being the sister I never had. I have been through some REALLY hard times in the last ten years and thought many times that I could not go on, especially after each of the 25 surgeries I had to endure. When I was down, she propped me up..when I cried she made me laugh, and mostly when I had no faith in myself, she loaned me hers until I could find mine again. I am so fortunate to have a friend like her, some people never get to experience a friendship that has lasted so long and by such a wonderful person. I have been blessed!! B.J. Grote, NE

I love getting a thank you note and sending them and am trying to teach my daughter to send them as well – she’s still a teenager so I have to keep on her but I’m hoping the practice will stay with her and that she’ll pay it forward! I’d like to say thank you to my best friend Ann — we live quite a ways apart these days (me in CA and she in NM) but she is always there for me no matter what! In the past 5 years she’s seen me through my Mom’s death, a couple of job changes, innumerable “crises” and my recent brother’s death. We’ve also had some amazing fun times, the time we “ran away” to Reno, our fun trip to Indian Market in Santa Fe, their housewarming party in NM a year ago and many, many others. Thank you Ann — you are truly the sister I never had!!!

... and Tara said, "Thank you so much for including me on this!!  Had fun reading all the thank yous.  They are all winners to me...but these three touched my heart!"