Thank You…

For  all the people who made me who I am today… THANK YOU.

 

To Mom- 

For keeping a roof over my head, clothes on my back, and food in my belly (even when I was a bratty teenager). Thank you for working 2 jobs while raising us and going to school, you taught me determination. Thank you for NOT taking advantage of the system, and teaching me how to work for what I want. From rescuing squirrels and pigeons, stray cats, a dumpster dog,  and a worm infested Pitty mix you taught me responsibility and instilled a love of animals that will last me til the day I die.

 

To Dad- 

Where do you think I got it from, Father? And by it, I mean  sarcasm. You changed the way I thought about music. Without your hundreds of CD’s I’d still be listening to Billy Ray. ugh. You showed me The Beastie Boys (Ill Communication- Sabotage), The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, and soooo many more amazing bands. You bought me my first “Parental Advisory” CD’s (Limp Bizkit, and Blink 182), which I hid from Mom, and only listened to in headphones. For introducing me to the Fantasy and Sci-Fi genres. Through Robert Jordan, Tolkien and the rest of them,you gave me a place that I felt safe, worlds to explore, and heroes to love.

 

To my grandparents- 

For showing me what 50+ years of marriage looks like. For fighting for our country. For sacrificing your dreams to raise a family. For your compassion and love. For your strength. Thank you for pancakes, fishing, summers at the lake, vegetable gardens, apple jelly, and live trapping chipmunks (which we released a few miles down the road). For

 

To my first “real” boyfriend-

For my first heartbreak. It was horrible, I cried, and I thought my life was over. Because of you, I learned how to put myself back together.

 

To my Phi Sigma Sigma sisters, and the brothers of Pi Kappa Phi-

 For “the college experience”. Beer Pong, house parties, parliamentary procedure, gossip, all night cramming, and Sheetz food. Thank you  PSS sisters for taking me in me despite the fact that I wasn’t a typical sorority girl. I truly love you girls. Thank you to some brothers for “protecting” me, and some for helping me go wild.

 

To my best friends in college- 

For keeping me sane,  welcoming a silly Yankee into your lives, and for late night talks while chain-smoking . “This might sound bad, but…”

 

To my Department Head @ AU- 

You where right, I never amounted to anything in that field. But that’s because it is full of people like you. People who didn’t give me a chance, and that’s OK. If I had stayed, I wouldn’t be who I am today. I probably wouldn’t have gone to work at the restaurant, met my husband, or gone to CO to finish school. Thank you, for helping me become who I am.

 

To the first guy I lived with-

You taught me that I need to love & care about myself, before I could do it for someone else. You broke my trust and opened my eyes to how relationships should work.

 

To a very good friend, & former roommate-

for AppleTini nights. Need I say more? She talked me out of moving back to MA for good, and into a cop costume for Halloween. Even though we’ve grown very far apart, you’ll always be in my heart.

 

To my restaurant family- 

Y’all took a huge chance on me… You gave me a job, some of the best friends a girl could have, and a reason to call D-Vegas “Home”. You had faith that I would get better, broke me out of my shell, scolded me when I fucked up, and praised me when I did “right”. You truly are my family…