Hi everyone, welcome to thanks for being here a short weekly pod to remind us of the many essential

and beautiful ways we affect one another. Every Sunday I'll read a submission from a listener,

Kelly Corrigan wonders, could be wedding vows or about mitzvah toast, a eulogy, or retirement speech.

We believe this is probably the loveliest way to tap into our better selves and remember

our highest values. We encourage you to share this podcast each week with one person you love,

maybe someone you miss and need to bring closer, someone you want to feel your appreciation or admiration

or both. This is thanks for being here.

Today's thanks for being here is from a listener named Lauren Pauls. Hi Kelly and team,

I love all your podcasts, but especially thanks for being here. I've attached a submission,

a tribute I wrote for my granny who died at the ripe age of 101 a few years back.

She was a real peach. My mom, her daughter, has copies of it stashed in various places around her

house, which I find peculiar, but it brings me great joy to know that my writing meant so much to her

during such a painful time in her life. And to you, well, thanks for being here. I'm so glad you are.

Many thanks, Lauren Pauls. Then she sent this beautiful photograph of her hand and her

grandmother's, which reminded me a lot of an image I posted shortly after my father died.

Here is the writing of Lauren Pauls.

Three days before my granny died, I spent the night on her bedroom floor. My sister and I,

both nurses, joined my dad in her bedroom and shared some of our final memories with her.

We brought so much into the room that day, our nursing judgment, our sassy mouths,

our long lists of memories with grandma. Knowing full well that we were nearing the end,

Cheryl, having been present for many such final moments in her work in the hospital,

suggested that we remove grandma's rings. I was so enchanted with grandma's hands at night.

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