This article is a personal history of the Science and Mathematics Education Center (SMEC) in Perth, Australia, during my time there as a student. I make use of narratives to express what I see as the impact on my professional practice of having attended SMEC. I am grateful to SMEC, but what is being grateful really? In this paper I try to illustrate it, agreeing that while it is easy to start a thanksgiving text, I feel handicapped to capture all the greatness I am full of.