I wanna believe in self worth, confidence, high self esteem and all that jazz. But, in reality, I'm nothing without the people in my life. My inspiration and driving force is largely because of the wonderful, and not so wonderful folks I interact/ed with. So that brings me back to feedback, a large part of this blog is based on what I'm getting behind the scenes. Emails ya'll. And texts, and smiles, and encouragement (the ladder 'cause sometimes they can tell I really do need it, I'm human- sue me). No, but really I wanna thank the kindest lady who came up to me and told me how excited she was about this blog, and then explained her reasoning. I just kind of stared. I stumbled out a thank you..
I wanted to hug her.
I had been asked some questions about this blog that I wasn't prepared for, still I'm not. She gave me positive reinforcement that I didn't acknowledge properly.
THANK YOU.
So then I decided that I was just a little too eager to post my previous post, and I didn't talk about the friend who sent the email enough. My DCM (initials cause even if the writer swore I could post, I wasn't ready to divulge the identity of the emailer) Okay, okay, have ya'll guessed? It's a female.
So lemme just throw out a bit more lovin's for that pep talk cheerleader.....
when has she not been my pep talk cheerleader..?
DCM
was my pal before a lot of people at my new school warmed up to me. She listened automatically on day two, when I spilled my guts about the girl who had tried to pummel me on day one (original right, pick on the new girl) She planted herself by my side instantly, always making it clear that she would have my back. It was an inner-city school, I needed someone to have my back. DCM always tugged on my ponytail during class. When we had english assignments due, she would create me a rubric and a calendar, and always volunteered to tape things for me ( I have a tape/sticker OCD that grosses me out huge). When one of our other friends had a birthday, she would go all out for them and then also bring me a small present so I wouldn't feel left out. One of my favorite things about her..
her whale song! ( don't ask, sometimes the goofy lighthearted stuff was just what the doc ordered)
..my real favorite thing about her.. hold your britches ya'll cause it's on the narcissistic side..
She noticed that I chew gum with my front teeth.
What? Okay, what did I just say?
Yeah, instead of chewing with my back molars I like to chew it with my front guys. How on earth did she notice this? She was right though. It wasn't like she was saying, " Hey b, cute pants..", that's a different kind of notice. She recognized one of my quirky habits, she had paid attention. And I hate to say it but when your dad is gone, and your mom is doing her best, having someone notice and point something out about you, it's special. Or it can be. For me, it was special. When you're a military kid sometimes it's hard to imagine friends investing time in you, and even worse you try and prevent investing in others. You start to think that'll make leaving easier. You learn, nothing makes leaving easier. You ditch the idea of surface level friendships and try and build something that lasts.
Once she had told me that little fact, I knew she was special. I knew the Army had done me right.
This isn't even close to highlighting her good and virtuous heart, I could write a library about her benevolence, but I hope you understand what I mean. A friend can go a long way. Has anyone else had a friend that did more than their fair share of friending? Do you remember when someone just ultimate treated you like a queen, or a unicorn or something super rare? Tell me.
Bear with me, it's a cell phone quality photo from early two thousand. But here is DCM and I ( the end two on the right) in all our teenage awkwardness. Thanks for the email DCM, but thanks truly for always being a quality friend.
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