Sorting through my office, confronting the hamster nests of papers in order to pack and move, I found a piece of yellow legal paper on which I drafted (but never ultimately sent) a note of thanks to send to friends after my daughter Merida’s accident in the summer of 2011. (I blogged about her accident here.) Because the world of people to whom I’m grateful continues to expand, I am posting it here. (You know who you are.)
Here’s what I wrote back then. Back then, I would have refined it before sending, but now, I won’t:
Dear friends,
This is a note of belated yet enduring gratitude.
Your compassion, company, cards, and meals collectively sustained us after M’s accident. Today as I cooked a pack of Annie’s mac & cheese, I remembered when a friend who brought us a dinner of summer bounty (fresh veggies from the garden, quinoa) had also included a box of Annie’s–a thoughtful addition to the feast that might only suit grownups. So many little things like this made such a difference. And to everyone who’s become part of our lives since, teachers and friends at Antioch School…
As we celebrate Merida’s healing, I wanted to take a moment to thank you for the part you played in supporting us through it all. Maybe one of the most important things she’s learning in this is how beautiful community can be.
It’s still true. And gratitude, its physical feeling, feels good.
Rebecca Kuder 
A sense of community is a life line, a reminder we are all connected. I remember that summer and I thank you for taking a moment (right after the accident) even through your sorrow, your fear, your time away, to thoughtfully be with me, my family, stand in support, finish what we started.
You were giving and receiving that summer, exchange, balance, are beautiful things. Thank you for what you taught me, what you continue to teach me.
Dionne, what sweet words. Thank you. And thank you for what you continue to teach me as well. Right on. :)