Wow--this blog auction stuff has been incredible! I had no idea. No idea. And honestly, I've felt a little embarrassed by all the attention. But as a friend of a friend said, an experience like this opens one up to the amazing outpouring of love and to begin to know how much we are loved.
And oh boy, do I feel the love. It fills me, straightens my bending, strengthens my weary bones, and fuels my exhaustion. I feel the support and find purpose outside of my bed.
So a few acknowledgments are in order:
To those who donated for the auction--you are amazing. You demonstrate your skills and talents and the ability to create and make the world beautiful. I love how every item up for bidding was so individual to your abilities, from Dutch oven dinners to quilts to babysitting and math tutoring. I realize that we all have a contribution to make and we all need to rely on each other because individually we can't do it all on our own.
To those who bid--you are generous. Beyond generous. I want to be like you. I want to learn to dig deep and spread what I have to help others. To those of you who outbid each other, you are funny. Stay friends, though, ok? Don't be bitter, be better. To those who won, congrats! I hope your winnings are everything you wanted them to be and I hope you always remember the love and gratitude I have for you. To those who didn't win, again, don't be bitter, be better. Thank you for raising the stakes. You have boosted me in many ways. I love you.
To those who advertised on Facebook and blogs, thank you for spreading the word. I don't know many of the people who participated, but I feel like I found a whole bunch of new friends. Thank you.
To those who donated directly into the Paypal account, thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You all are helping me to realize that I can get through this, that I can figure out how to manage it all, and that I will beat cancer.
To Emily who coordinated this all, your quiet service and love and support are incredible and I will always appreciate this. Thank you for sharing your time and hard work.
But most of all, to all of you, far and wide, I have learned something that will stay with me the whole rest of my long life. Marjorie Hinckley once said, "Oh, how we need each other." Thank you for being here for me in this crazy experience. I will be here for you.
In other news, I have a spinal tap tomorrow morning. The first of five weekly chemo jabs into my spinal fluid. Think happy thoughts for me!
5 comments:
it was so fun i think we should do it again.
You are SO loved, Reeder.
SO. LOVED.
(and for those of us who were outbid on some items, be looking for a little extra somethin' somethin' just for YOU)
it really was so much fun! so happy to participate in such an effort!
you are the best!
i love you all the days!
Thanks for putting up with the embarrassment of it all, because everyone who participated benefited. We Love Jenny Reeder!
shortly after I last saw you John proposed. I guess there's a midwest tradition of getting engagement photos taken (I grew up in Southern Cali and had NO idea about this) but we had been talking about getting a friend to take the pictures. Yet, when I saw one of the photography sessions up for bid I just knew that this was the way to do it. I can't wait to take the pictures and share the story of 'the pictures that helped Jenny' because I cannot think of a better person to give this money to than you. I hope to see you again soon sometime in the future...I miss your smiling face at school
I think there should be another, springtime auction so that I can take part! I found out about it too late!!!
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