I want to say thank you for the love and the many lessons you taught me over the years

Thank you for bringing me out of my shell. 

Thank you for helping me overcome my fear of flying.

Thank you for taking me to the ocean for the first time.

Thank you for Italy; it was truly the trip of a lifetime.

Thank you for teaching my daughter to cook and to drive.

Thank you for teaching me to keep toxic people at arm’s length.

Thank you for always allowing me to maintain my independence.

Thank you for calling me the “love of your life” on stage – in front of a crowd of people – and for honestly meaning it at the time.

Thank you for seeing me through the death of my first grandchild; I am not sure I could have done it without you.

Thank you for helping me grow in so many ways. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without you, and I will be forever grateful for those gifts.

And mostly…

Thank you for smoking cigars even though I’m allergic.

Thank you for not showing up while I battled breast cancer.

Thank you for not being there when my mother died.

Thank you for all of your unkindness during one of the hardest years of my life.

Thank you for kicking me while I was down.

And thank you for cheating.

I’m grateful for these gifts as well — because they made letting go of you so much more bearable.