Gratitude

Eight months makes a place feel like home. There are faces I recognize. Friends who drop by. Children who yell my name now instead of someone else’s. There are quiet roads I know, and busy days I can prepare for.

But there are still moments when, despite loving the life I’m learning to live, it’s easy to feel far from family and friends.

Which is why I want to say thank you.

Thank you to a Mom and Dad who send care packages more often than most. To Aunts and Uncles who pack a laundry list of wishes into a plain cardboard box. To old roommates who write near weekly letters and former coworkers who insure I’m always taking my vitamins. To best friends who respond immediately to text messages and past editors who keep my bookshelves stocked. To family friends who brought Crayola crayons and scented markers to our kids and to the girl who's decided to do her Mitzvah project for Khorixas. To the strangers who’ve sent school supplies and sporting goods and to the people who’ve pledged their support for my dental program.

Thank you.

Thank you for your generosity.

Thank you for your kindness.

Thank you for making those hard days somehow easier to bear. And for reminding me that even across an ocean and a continent away, I'm never that far from home.