On Gratitude

I just wanted to say a great big juicy THANK YOU to the people who have encouraged me to write, and write well, and who have been so incredibly, amazingly supportive and empathetic to me as I begin my fledgling writing career. I can't name them all, so I'll just name a few key players in this new obsession of mine:

Leslie Ruth, my cousin, to whom I swear that we will one day collaborate on a book on The Coolest Dysfunctional Southern Family Ever. I love you very much and miss you out there in Texas. I think we've both grown and changed very much in the last few years, and I'm glad you're my cousin, Cousin! Where would The Family be without our favorite Drama Queen? (Well, first favorite. It's apparently genetic, so second favorite would be Lila.)

Rebecca, who really has no idea what she means to me and probably never will because she is so infuriatingly modest, or what she did when she, a True Teacher, brought literature to life for a chubby freshman in English class. And who, years later, is not only still a Teacher of sorts to me, but a Friend and Fellow Woman.

My Dad, who all of my life told me that one of the things I must do in life is to master the written and spoken word. Hopefully I've started my journey there, and May It Never End. And also for everything he has done for me, things much too numerous to mention here, but he knows what they are and how much I am grateful.

My Precious, Precious Mom, who is herself a former teacher of English literature, and whom I can call at any time of night or day if I forget what a past participle is or where it goes in a sentence, who lovingly reminds me to never end a sentence in a preposition, and who has always encouraged me to write and to read because she knows this is Truly What I Love to Do (Is "do" a preposition, Mom?). And that was just for the writing part of the thank you. Everything else she has done for me would take a lifetime's worth of blogs to even skim over, but she should know how much I love her.

My sister, who told me that my blog was even more addictive than American Idol. No higher praise than this can be given. Besides, she's going to be famous one day and she can promote my writing from the red carpet.

My best friends Kim and Lizzie, who don't read my blog. But they do everything friends should do and more: Encourage, support, babysit, dye hair, and not make fun of my favorite book in the world being The Lord of the Rings. They have no idea how they have kept me afloat since high school, and how much of my life is possible because of them.

My boyfriend Jay, for calling my writing "constipated", and making me laugh and then give my writing an enema. I hope it's improved, darling.

My family, including but not limited to aunts, uncles, cousins, and everyone else who can lay claim to the name of Cruise. I am so fortunate to have a family like mine, and all of them were so supportive of my idea to begin writing, and even excited to read what I had to say! I love all of them dearly and desperately, though they may not know it. Also thank you to my family for providing unlimited stories to tell and retell with much laughter over the years, and for providing much fodder for this very blog, yet to be written.

There are so many others I thank as well. I know this sounds like an Oscars award acceptance speech (cue the music for the one who went way over her time limit), but gratitude and joy were really on my heart tonight and I wanted to share it. I have a good feeling about my dear little musings80 blog, and so here's to bridges that will be built with new friends or rebuilt from old ties, and to really seeing the heart and soul and beauty of the world and the people in it through their words, because that's what writing is. I learned that in Freshman English.