No, this isn’t a post about my parents, sister, best friends, well-wishers, or even my girlfriend (although it probably should be).
This is about you. Don’t look behind you then back to these words, pointing at yourself quizzically as if to say, “Who? Me?â€
Side note – this just popped in to my head. One of the biggest problems I have with television and movies is the constant need for the screenwriters to weave in the characters’ names into normal conversation in which you would never mention the other person’s name.
The next time you see your wife or husband pull this one out: â€Great to see you, Steve!†or even a simple, “Hello, Laura.†They will back away slowly from you searching for a heavy object on the counter with their hands behind their back. Now that I’ve said this you will notice it a lot It will bug you. Sorry, Jennifer.
Actually, now that I’ve written that I think I understand where that digression came from. I had let over a hundred comments from you pile up over the past few weeks. Since I have a policy that I basically respond to each comment personally (which is getting tougher) I started into the heap late last night. I found myself using your first names (or screen names) in a lot in replies. I like to do this, and since we don’t really know each other, is entirely appropriate.
Since I hadn’t even seen the comments in awhile I sort of forgot you existed. This is not entirely true as I check my Twitter feed several times a day and I’m constantly replying. But I was mentally removed from the comments you had left on this site. I have them auto-forward to a folder that I forget to check.
I was feeling a bit down last night and I started on the old comments. And then, like when you see an old friend who lives a few towns over and at the end of the coffee you say, “We simply must do this again soon, Charles! Let us not let time pass as it did before!†(I really hope you speak like this). I had to prematurely end that sentence, which technically is fragmented. Picking back up now – I forgot just how funny and warm you damned people are.
When you’re in the dumps I think it’s completely fine to hang there. Don’t try to pull yourself out. Let your friends do the heavy lifting. Leaning into sadness is healthy. I had a hundred messages from you that made me laugh and feel connected. Some were even vulnerable and emotional. Some were dumb, too. But, hey, so are a few of my posts.
Bottom line – your comments mean a great deal to me. It never boosts my ego, even if you write something complimentary. It does make me excited and grateful, every time. I write this blog to talk about myself, because in a weird way, it connects me with people like you. And when you write me, I get to know you. That’s the best part.
photo credit: David Blackwell. via photo pin cc
