My dearest family and friends, it is difficult to express my gratitude and love to you all. You know this saying, “a dog wags its tail with its heart” – well, I am like that dog today. I want to say so much, but I can hardly find the words. So, I’ll just say that you are the greatest blessing in my life. This evening is the expression of your love to me, I realize this, but also it is the event when I see all of you gathered in the same place. So, I gotcha! Now you think you’ll have to listen to my long and boring confessions…Well, you are right. I’ll try to make them shorter and funnier, but they still remain long and boring. So, listen to me…Thank you! Thank you for being with me all that difficult time. You support and understanding gave me the strength to continue fighting. Without you I would give up. But then you would come or call and I would remember why I am so in love with this wonderful life – because of you. You are my world, and I am sincerely grateful to God for giving me such loving family and caring friends. Your support was crucial for me this year, when I achieved much due to your help: I graduated my true passion – Nursing school. I can’t wait when I can apply my skills and knowledge into practice.
Love and gratitude – this is what I feel standing now in front of you. Love and gratitude – these are the best emotions one can imagine. I am happy to love you and to be grateful to you. I know that you love me too, but it is by mistake. You think I am an ideal: perfect mother, noble friend, lofty relative – you are wrong! I have to work much on myself! I am not a leopard which never changes its stripes, so I would like to assure you that my goal in life is to become as wonderful as you think I am. As far as this goal attainment requires much effort, skills and time, I hope that you’ll help me in it, as always. Just like all girls I dreamt of many things, people and event in my childhood, but I couldn’t even imagine that some day I would have such wonderful friends and family. I deeply appreciate your support. Thank you for being with me and Tom. In the end, I want to cite you a poem (not mine, by Richard McWilliam):
What is a dream? What is a dream? A dream is a goal, An inspiration, A dream is where Hope lives, A dream is something to chase when life drags us down, A dream is a song in the wilderness, Good flowering from the mud of evil. That is a dream. Get yourself a dream, Touch God and pray
And never, ever let your dream get away.
With you, my dearest, my dream is always near. Thank you very much.
