To my TDK Family at Christmas

Dear Family,

As many of you know, I am not exactly the most organized person on the planet. I mean well, but I do hold an office in the Procrastinators Club so that tells you something important about me. I have to set timelines for myself or I find that I spin off in a million different directions and never accomplish half of what I set out to do. Thankfully I wasn’t this way when I was working as a nurse, but I seem to have put my brain in neutral after retirement and now I can’t remember where I left it. If anything happens to disrupt my timeline then Heaven help me. And sadly this year something did – I caught a raging cause of the flu. The shorter version to this tale is that, so far, I have failed to get out my Christmas cards. Seeing as how this is December 21, I’m beginning to think that those cards are going to have to be for another occasion like “We made it to January – Hurray!” cards. I feel horrible that I have not been up to doing them and that feeling has escalated into a feeling of failure because every day, while I have been sick, Mr. WWM appears at my “nest” with a fistful of cards and says, “These will make you feel better!”. This, of course they have, because they are from treasured friends. They are from you all. Thank you so much for being with me during my fever induced haze.

So, I will get out my cards – they just won’t be for Christmas. In lieu of that, I thought that I would like to take a bit of time during this blessed Christmas season to say a prayer of thanks for all of you. As so many of us have said, I had never been a part of a chat group before I found TDK. And, given my tendency to do things for a while, and then move onto something else, I never dreamt that three years later TDK would still be such a big part of my day. I am so blessed to have a wonderful husband, wonderful friends here, and a very fulfilling role in my community and also to have all of you who have entered my life through this innocent website. Given that, I thought that I would try to explain a few of the ways that make all of you so very special.

We come from all walks of life, from vastly different life experiences, and from all over the world. And yet we have one very important thing in common – we love all creatures great and small. And personally, I think that says quite a bit about a person – a person who truly loves animals has a pure heart and a willingness to give great love. By doing that, we are also blessed in receiving the most innocent and pure kind of love in return.

God gave us brains and the determination to use them. That, as it must, leads us to have polar opposite views on many issues of the day. But it also strengthens us in opening our eyes to viewpoints that are different from our own. Yes, we have the occasional hissy fit, as all people who are passionate will, be we know it for what it is and it does not shake the ties that bind us.

We have personalities that are as varied as the number of TDK members and yet we can come together and talk as friends who have known each other for a lifetime and we somehow seem to understand the needs of each other. I must say, in all truthfulness, that rarely have I encountered the grace, concern, love, support and the desire to help as I have amongst all of you. We have weathered sad events, happy events, births, deaths, loss, and disillusionment, hurt, loss of self esteem and sense of self worth, and almost any other emotion that you can name, and we have done it together. We have shared tears, laughter, grief, great joy – in all things. Some of them huge and some of them small, but we have shared because we are friends and that is what friends do.

It is a marvel to me that complete “strangers” would invest in a plane, train or bus ticket, gas for every imaginable kind of vehicle, hotels and meals in order to not miss an opportunity to meet with each other in person. How many people do you know (other than us) that would do that? And then, to walk into a room full of people that you have never “seen” but who you know with all of your heart and have the chance to finally hug in person…. Well, tears always seem to be a part of that but they are happy tears. I have such wonderful memories of all of the TDK meet-ups that I have been so fortunate to attend and I have come away with lifelong friends that I never even would have found had it not been for finding TDK. What a great, great gift that has been!

I adore that we all know that we can ask each other for almost anything – mostly for support, and to know that it will be given without judgment but with love. I am not a terribly religious person, as in a regular attendee at church, but I am a very spiritual person. I believe that God knows if we live our lives trying to be good, and do good, even if we fail to show up at church. And I know that if one of us here asks for prayers, they are given in abundance and with true faith. Even though I may not attend church on a regular basis, I do pray. I have prayed for so many of you, for our little animals, for sick friends and have meant every word that I have whispered to God. And it means the world to me to know that, when I might need them, you will offer your prayers for me.

I love the pure joy and silliness that is often times TDK. What creative people we have here! I love that we can be silly, laugh, tease, imagine and be “childlike” again. I hope that none of us ever loses that ability. There is so much sadness in our world – I want to always be able to come to TDK and find laughter.

I love that there are so many among us with the true gift of being able to comfort in times of great sadness and loss. It is a gift to be able to give that to people in need, and not one that many people have. I look so forward to the day that I can purchase a book by Emma so that I can give it to comfort friends who have lost a loved one and who are so heartbroken. She has brought The Wolf and The Meadow alive for me and I can see the sweet faces of precious babies that have gone before me and I know, without a doubt, that they wait for me there.

Well, there are many reasons why I think that TDK is unique and special. These are only a few. All I know is that I am so very grateful that such wonderful friends have entered my life. And during this magical Christmas season, I just want to say “Thank you”. Thank you for the gift of your friendship and for sharing your lives with me. I love you all and wish you the most beautiful of Christmases and the joy that comes during this season of knowing that we are never alone. May the New Year bring great joy, happiness and health to all of you and to those that you love.

With love,

WWM