In the last 4 days, I’ve heard from two very dear friends who I know will always be there for me (not because of what they tell me – but because of what they SHOW me) and three newer friends who have impressed me with their joy and willingness to … well, just their overall joy and willingness, actually.
Scott called me on Tuesday towards the end of his day to see how things were going for me. It’s not unusual for us to talk for 40 minutes at a time and suddenly he’ll look at his watch and say “yikes – time to pick up my kid” or for me to look at the laptop clock and say “aw nuts – commute hour”. We always cover quite a bit of ground in our conversations – we’re both quick talkers, and we each know the general cast of characters that we discuss, so background stories aren’t always necessary. In fact, I appreciate that he rarely asks me for details when he notices I’m not forthcoming with them on my own. (And we have great moments, too … like when I jokingly said “hey Scott – change lives with me!” and there was that half-second of silence that told me he was thinking of how that would physically not work so well for him, and we briefly discussed various logistics. Good stuff.) Scott is also getting harder and harder to surprise with how I conduct my life and the forced distance and self-protection/preservation that IS my nature. (I was getting pretty good at removing that distance and those protective devices – but my recent heartache only served as a reminder to how fragile I am. To judge me as “strong” wouldn’t just be inaccurate, it’d be downright laughable.)
Which brings me to the call that came shortly after Scott and I hung up. Tim was traveling last week to help celebrate his brother getting married. We brought each other up to speed, and while his trip was somewhat stressful and my week was as well, both situations had (mostly) happy endings. Per our usual conversations, there was lots of laughter at the insanity of the details of our lives in general (if you can't laugh at these things, good luck to you), and we wrapped up the call – just in time for me to drop a note to a friend who has posted here. I wanted to take her up on her offer for coffee on Wednesday – AND to hear all about her new job in August.
Thea started as a receptionist in our building as a temporary employee. She’d replaced someone who had done the job for gosh – maybe 4 years or more? So yeah, she had big shoes to fill, and she wasn’t just a great fit for the role, she was willing to do things above and beyond the “norm”, knowing that we’d all be very appreciative. (As a for instance, she helped me proofread my “letters to the company” on my Biloxi trips which, considering my lak of speling skilz, is a HUGE task). She became a regular employee shortly after she started, and when I’d hear her talk of her desire to finish her degree and then join the PeaceCorps, for whatever reason, I believed her. A lot of folks talk about this – but after seeing the drive of the “kids” I’d worked alongside of in the Gulf, I could easily see her doing this work, and loving it.
Well it’s better than all that … Thea’s been accepted into an AmeriCorps program near her home where she’ll work for a whole school year with special needs children. Watching her discuss the details with me, I just … I wanted to bottle her smile and the energy and use it during our next power outage. It’d light up the whole city. She came baring gifts (totally unnecessary) and it wasn’t until I got home that I saw she even included a coffee card for my morning routine. Oh and BONUS points – she made sure to enjoy that big beautiful bottle of champagne I’d bought her on the day she finished her coursework – PLUS she’ll be attending the graduation ceremony live. I really hope she shares photos.
AND then, as if all that wasn’t great by itself (and it is), last night I got to attend a GRAND event in a BEAUTIFUL hotel for a TERRIFIC non-profit organization (which was totally unconnected to anything health-related) where the dress code was blue jeans. To top it off, I looked – if I do say so myself – really damn good. In fact, it’s possible that I even looked really damn terrific.
(More on the event and the other two folks providing brightness in my life tomorrow. I wanna extend this for just as long as I can.)
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