Thank you!

After an emotional, crazy week I needed to do some positive reflection. Then it hit me---what better way to feel good than to think about all of the people who've helped me through life. So here ya go. My "Thank You" list. They are NOT in order of importance or anything, just the order in which they came to mind. (I'm sure it's going to be a work in progress.)

Thank you to:

1. My parents for making me brush my teeth, comb my hair, take showers, and wear deodorant when I was growing up. You can't believe how many kids have parents who don't. Thank you also for feeding me, clothing me, and educating me. I can't believe how many parents expect someone else to do those things; it breaks my heart.

2. My fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Martin, who encouraged me to read more challenging books. I wanted to win the class reading contest and thought reading easy books would work. She coaxed me (rather forcefully) to choose books that would challenge me and pushed me through a door that eventually led to an English degree. I continue to love reading and am forever grateful to her.

3. The Primary,Young Women, and Seminary workers in the various wards we were in who gave countless hours out of their lives to spend time with a brat like me. You helped build my gospel foundation and reminded me of my Godly potential, even when I felt like I had none.

4. My Grandpa Dan Thacke who taught me how to tie my shoes and how to hold still long enough that hummingbirds would sit on my finger and chipmunks would eat out of my hand. He had so much patience. I wish I'd inherited some more of it.

5. Ms. Riccobini (now Mrs. Branchini), the best 5th grade teacher ever! She had a class newspaper and piqued my interest in writing, a life-long obsession. 

6. My mom for taking the time out of her busy life as a mom of 4 (at that time) to read to me every day. That time spent led to me learning to read. I still remember sitting next to her on her bed when the letters and words went from gobbly-gook to legible.

7. The I.T. Department at Covey hiring me for their Help Desk. That humble position led to another and another. It turned into 5 years of working with the most amazing people in the world. I saw lives change, travelled across the U.S. many times, and made life-long friends. I STILL use concepts I learned at that time in my daily life.

8. The inventor of the internet, Blogger, Facebook, and email. (That was Al Gore, right???) ;o) He/she/they have made life both simpler and more complicated, but I love keeping in touch with people for free and sharing my thoughts for all the world to see.

9. My husband for being funny, amazing, smart, kind, and hard-working. We're a great combo---like a burger and fries, (I'm the fries) or peanut butter and jelly (I'm the jelly.)  ;o)  He is the man of my dreams.


10. Heavenly Father for trusting me with the spirit that is my little J-man. Doctors said it was impossible for me to ever get pregnant. God knew better. I'm grateful every single day for this miracle that made me his mother, even when said J-man is cranky and turning into a stinky, know-it-all, teenage boy.

11. Two sets of the best in-laws in the world. I thought I got lucky with great in-laws with my first marriage, then I remarried and found out I was blessed AGAIN! How many people do you know who love their in-laws??? They are so kind, never finding fault with me. They love me and encourage me and treat me like one of their own. I am so grateful for all four of them in my life.

12. My dad for working so hard and sacrificing so much for us. His example of fighting his way from poverty to success is amazing to me. I use it all of the time at school with my kids. He IS the American Dream! Thanks Dad!!!

13. My roommates and friends at BYU. I spent 6 years there (I know, I know, two too many!!) but am grateful for every day and every, single thing I learned from each of you. My roommates put up with so MUCH of my crap (sorry girls) as I was growing up (so slowly) and figuring out who I wanted to be. I'm so sorry for being such a snot and for making cookies and cakes all of the time. "The Cori 10" was real. Every roommate I had gained at least 10 pounds living with me (except for my sister, Terresa. She was impervious to my baking skills.)

14. My professors and Bishops at BYU. Thank you all for your patience and work on my behalf. I wish I could repay you. One way I try to give back is to be the best person and example I can. Thank you!

15. Sarah D. in England. That Rotary Club exchange was tough. We didn't get along at ALL. The months we spent in England, then the U.S. were some of the most difficult months of my life. You questioned my government, my religion, and my life. At the time I hated you for it, but you challenged me to know more about my government, and my religion. I became politically active on the conservative side (much to the horror of my liberal friends), scoured the scriptures and researched the doctrine of my church, and really questioned who I was as an American and a Mormon. I never realized what a great influence you would have on my learning and my future. You opened my eyes to how people in the world view America and Mormons. Thank you. I hope you don't hate me.

16. My ancestors. Who were you? What hopes and dreams did you have? What kind of people were you? What traits of yours did I inherit? My straight hair? My strong religious beliefs? My short stature? My chunky thighs? My intellect? I took a maternal DNA test several years ago (through National Geographic's "The Genographic" project) and my maternal line goes back thousands of years into an area around the Black Sea. It is a line many European women come from and a majority of the women in this DNA line were/are Jewish. I wonder how a Jewish girl from the freezing cold north ended up with a Mormon descendant living in the Mojave Desert of the southwest United States. Crazy, right? What I want to know are all of the stories that took place between her generation and mine. I can't wait to find out.



To be continued . . .

Copyright 2011 Corrina L. Terry
Photo credits:
http://www.theonenesslovefoundation.org/thankyou.htm
http://georgiatechdopp.wordpress.com/2010/01/
http://www.kentonseptsa.com/sponsorshipthanks.htm
http://dailybail.com/home/the-daily-bail-web-traffic-thank-you-to-all-our-amazing-read.html
http://www.pbase.com/triciawildflower/image/95253091