NaBloPoMo for June

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comments, encouragement, heart stories, NaBloPo for June, reassurance

The June theme for National Blog Posting Month is “Comment”. Comments are dear to my heart, and I treasure each and every one of them — I respond to them, too. Comments are the magic that turns a blog from a monologue into a conversation, a meeting of minds and hearts. I received a comment from a blogger last week that truly gave me goosebumps for its openness, sweetness and generosity:

Your writing often provides me glimpses into a life I’ve never had or experienced. I thank you for that and for all that you share.. Undoubtedly you touch many lives. Your blog is a gift beyond anything you can possibly imagine.

Sometimes I wonder whether there is “anyone out there” reading what I write. Then the comments come, and I am reassured that this is exactly what I am supposed to be doing. I hope the comments I make on the blog posts of others provide that same reassurance.

Comment on!

Encouragement

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Allison Virtue, blogging, Carrie Baize, Dr. Maya Angelou, encouragement, Katrina Sinift, Rocky Horror Picture Show

I have been thinking today about Dr. Maya Angelou and enjoying many Maya quotes being shared on Facebook and other media. In my opinion, Dr. Angelou’s most powerful gift was that of Encourager. It was my extreme pleasure to see her when she visited Visalia a number of years ago, and that was the take-away for me from that afternoon.

The best story of the day was how she came to be in Visalia at all. It seems that in her quest to bring Dr. Angelou here, the lady behind her visit actually took out a second mortgage on her home to pay her speaker’s fee. Dr. Angelou was not aware of this until, due to a very hectic and over-booked schedule, she told her assistant that she needed to cancel the engagement. That was when she was told that a home had been mortgaged to get her here! Needless to say, she did not cancel, the event was standing-room-only, and the organizer in question did not lose her home! Dr. Angelou’s message was that if a perfect stranger had this much faith in her, how could she possibly disappoint!

In my life I have been blessed with a myriad of encouragers, led by my parents and other loving family members. But in thinking specifically of my blog, and my writing in general, there have been a few others who have been ever so encouraging. I I have said some of this before, but it is worth repeating. First in my list of blogging encouragers is fellow blogger and dear friend, Katrina Sinift. Reading her blog made me think, (in the immortal words of Dr. Frankenfurter) “Don’t dream it — be it!” And Carrie (Asdell) Baize with her wonderful fiction helped me realize how much I really wanted others to read what I write. And my cousin Allison Virtue (I really am going to meet her outside of Facebook someday), whose daily writing challenges shared on FB inspired me to do the same.

Daily I read other bloggers’ posts and am inspired, entertained, encouraged…if I try listing them here I am sure to leave out someone really important. But I think you know who you are, and how much I enjoy our exchanges in the comments of our respective blog posts.

So my wish for each of you reading this is that you take the time to be an encourager — it really takes but a few minutes to listen and smile. In the overall scheme of things, I think that is why we are here. Thank you.

Pacing partners

Tags

Aunt Betty, encouragement, family relationships, pacing partners

In the direct sales business there is a relationship they call “pacing partners”.  These are generally two people in the same company, at approximately the same level in the organization, who partner for mutual benefit.  Your pacing partner can be your best cheerleader, your strongest advocate, your coach, your most honest critic — but she always has your best interests at heart, as you do hers.  You pull each other up, and keep each other from sinking.

In family structures similar relationships evolve, although they certainly aren’t labeled as such.  The family hierarchy isn’t quite the same, so you won’t necessarily find cousins as pacing partners, for example.  And these relationships can be quite fluid, changing as the family dynamics change.

I have been thinking quite a bit about who in my family I would consider my pacing partner these days, and my answer is somewhat surprising.  At first glance I would have said my sister, because she probably understands me better than anyone else in the world, and vice versa.  But on closer examination I would have to say it is my precious Aunt Betty, Mom’s big sister.

(This is where the business analogies fall apart, as we are certainly not at the same point in our lives or in our family relationships.  But just stay with me, please.)

Since Mom died, Aunt Betty has been my family touchstone.  Hers is the voice that brings my mother closest to me, because she knew her better than all of us, and probably misses her most of all.  We share stories, we giggle, sometimes we cry…and it is okay.  We encourage each other, pull each other up when the night has been very long and sleep has been short, we have fun together, and we try our best to figure out life’s challenges.

We now are grandmothers together…although she is a great-grandmother, too… and share tales about what our amazingly smart/beautiful/handsome grandchildren do each day.

And best of all, we love each other so incredibly much, and aren’t afraid to say so.  I don’t remember a time before Aunt Betty (I was the niece she practiced on before having her own family).  I can’t imagine life without her.  This isn’t where I thought I was going when I started blogging today, but all I have left to say is, “Thank you, Aunt Betty, for everything you are to me and to our family.”

And tomorrow when we talk on the phone, I will share this with her.