Thank You Note

Most people recieve money as gifts during the holidays or other days of importance. Yet, a question that I have had is "How can you write a thank you note to someone and make it personal enough that they feel pleased for their gift? After all, an open-ended monitary gift is something that is hard to specify." I wrote a thank-you note to two of my relatives that partially answers this question. I say partially because it is very difficult to respond to any question with a definitive answer. Todays entry is that note.
Dear Uncle ______ and Aunt ______,
Thank you so much for your wonderful gift. Your gift is something that appears general to most, however, I consider one of the most thoughtful. It is gifts like yours that enable me to get more out of NFTY, Judaism, and music -- the three aspects of my life, other than family, that mean the most. Thanks again, and I hope you have had a wonderful Hanukkah!
Love,
Jeremy

Day 2

Today was a good day. I went to work for my dad's company becasue it was inventory day, and they needed some extra help. Woke up early which, despite the difficulty in waking, was provided incredible observation. Although I go to school early enough, it's rare that I have the opportunity to view the world at the beginning of the day. As my dad and I were driving, he turned on a tape of an episode of "This American Life," from National Public Radio. I'm sure it was a nice story that he wanted to share, but I really had no interest in hearing it. Knowing my dad, I'm sure it covered something along the lines of "my family was broken, and now we are together and happy," or "our family is broken and I wish we could do something about it," to which he can reply something along the lines of "This is like in 'Our Town' and I'm so glad our family is so close." Yes dad, I am too. But take a moment and observe what's going on outside the car. I was paying attention to my own advise to my father.
It seems to me that in every car, there is a different story going on. Everyone is going somewhere, from somewhere, listening to their own personal collection of CDs, tapes, 8 tracks, or radio stations. However, this morning I noticed that, in a general way, it didn't seem like that was going on. While the specific destinations were different, almost every car we passed, or so it seemed, was off to their place of work. Not many people take aimless drives to see friends, stargaze, or grab a bite to eat, just to arrive back home at 7:15 in the morning. In nearly every other car we passed, the driver had a cup of a hot drink -- most likely coffee. There was a sense of determination in everyone's eyes that is only known to those who are driving to work, ready for the day to come.
A day is a challenge. No one day is without challenge. If it is, then either you were really lucky that everyone and everything happened to go your way, or you didn't make for yourself a good day. Make for yourself a good day. Challenge yourself and your boundaries, your limits. Try something new. Today, my challenge was the office inventory. But who knows? It is only 5 PM now, and the day is still ripe with possibility. For now, I am content. I have made for myself a good day.

In the beginning...

Today is a day. It is like every other day, yet it is unlike every other day. Everyday is the same and yet different. Does it matter what day this blog started? Yes. Today is the day. And this is the end for today. David Miller, in one of his journal's questioned the purpose of a prologue. "Why isn't it just Chapter 1?" Of this blog, this is chapter 1. Of my life, the chapters continue.