Thank You All!
I'm about to go all gooey and teary-eyed on you
I’ve been so overwhelmed by the messages of concern and sympathy you’ve shown for me from yesterday’s story. I think what has most affected me is how weird it felt to be surprised by how so many of you reached out to ask if I’m okay. Warped, I guess, from our current times, I didn’t expect it at all.
I appreciate so much my wonderful readers who don’t know me other than through America Eats! and who expressed their support and even shared their own experiences. And close friends and relatives who I’ve never revealed my struggles with mental illness—although, let’s face it, it explains so much, doesn’t it! Contrary to all the personal information I sometimes divulge in the newsletter, it was hard to write about this one because admitting and talking about mental illness still feels out of bounds, a shame to visit upon yourself—and in my case, my “everything is fine fine FINE,” and yet very supportive, family. You’ve countered those feeling and you’ve shown in so many ways the old-fashioned art of caring for one another.
Now look at all the graces that came about: Some of you laughed with me, some of you met the incredible Hildegard for the first time. All of you have gladdened my heart!
Please accept an open invitation to come on over to my house for a fine dinner party! It will be a merry feast.
Your slow reader, slow-to-react dear friend is just catching up. Just reading that you were teary-eyed made me teary eyed even before I read this story, and the earlier one. Then there were more tears.
I was your neighbor for 10+ years in Sunset Park. You helped sustain and entertain us during those 10 years and really brought the neighborhood to life. Our neighbor with the purple doors was unlike any other. I never would have guessed, not even for a moment, that you suffered with any kind of sadness.
I have a very dear friend who is a therapist. I told her that when we leave Long Island and arrive at our upstate cabin a certain indescribable calm comes over us. She has told me more than once that sometimes nature can do what cannot be done in any therapy session. So, when you and Chris are ready we hope you will head north to join us to inhale the fresh air and roast marshmallows on an open fire.