Never before have I felt more at home than since we moved to Alameda almost 20 years ago to raise our family.

Again and again, we have felt welcomed by our community: our Post Street crew, who decorated the outside of our home with a banner and balloons and treated us to home cooked meals when our son was born (this before we really knew our neighbors), showing us so much love and support when we needed it most and who over the years have become some of our best friends.

We celebrated birthdays and holidays together, created our own traditions, passed along hand-me-downs, watched each other’s kids grow up and shared that cup of sugar we needed for a recipe.

We’re appreciative of our neighborhood schools and the amazing teachers who have literally helped us raise our children.
Also to all the rec teams, coaches and volunteers our kids have been involved with. Thank you to my dance community at Rhythmix for all the love and leadership they offer.

We’re thankful to George and the morning crew at Cafe Au Lait, who to this day, greet us with a hearty hello each time we are there. Thank you to the fire department who helped my son when he needed to be rushed to the hospital (all was fine in the end and how he enjoyed the ride!). Thank you to the librarians who were literally my first friends here and helped support my children’s love of learning and reading (Ella, one of the beloved librarians is in my daughter’s baby book).

A special thank you to Alameda Peeps who fed my son’s curiosity about electronics with numerous donations and ideas.Thank you to the lovely couple who own Rocket Reuse for helping teach my children about the benefits of reusing. Thank you to Scott and the crew at Mosely’s who gave my daughter her first job and continue to provide such a warm space. I can’t forget the good people at Encinal Hardware, who have led us in many a project. The list goes on.

I especially think about our beautiful community now, during the holidays, when I take time to reflect and give thanks. We are thankful to have found our home, our community and our people! I remember brainstorming way back with my husband about ways to teach our children to be gracious and appreciative. As new parents, we wanted to be sure our children understood their role in the community and the importance of contributing and giving back. From the time my son was in preschool, we started doing various drives to collect clothes and supplies to share. And through our efforts, not only did the kids learn about being a part of something great and collect an enormous amount of new socks, gently used books, and winter clothes, but we met and partnered with some amazing people: Gma Terri, who helped us collect thousands of socks over the years, John from Pappos and all who help with his annual Christmas Eve day Soup Kitchen, volunteers at Midway Shelter, Bean from Rhythmix, Lynda from LGFit, and so many more.

And so to you, Alameda, we thank you. You have touched our hearts and we are forever grateful. Happy Holidays to you all.