Squeeze me . . .

I need a copy of this sign . . .

Word for the weekend

Courtesy of Dictionary.com's Word of the Day:

doff \DOF\, transitive verb:
1. To take off, as an article of clothing.

2. To tip or remove (one's hat).

3. To put aside; to rid oneself of.

Dear Keri

I learned yesterday that a high school friend of mine is dying from ALS. She's 29. She's just had her first baby, and she can no longer hold the child.

Although we haven't really kept in touch through the years, I have seen Keri at the occasional neighborhood event - most notably, Chicken Stew.

She's always been beautiful, popular, and successful. When I was younger, I was jealous because of her gifts. Now that I'm older and wiser, I'm not jealous of Keri's gifts any longer, because I realize my own. Even in the throes of her disease, she's still beautiful, popular, and successful. What a wonderful testament to her spirit.

You can read about Keri and her struggle with ALS, the challenges she's having and the support she's getting from her family and friends here, courtesy of the Winston-Salem Journal. If you'd like to see the outpouring of support she's getting from the community, check out the website her friend, Jennifer Lassiter, is keeping for her here.

I might add that the best quote in the article is the one with which it ends, courtesy of Jennifer: "At 29, I never thought I'd be helping my best friend die." How telling. Keri's obviously got an irreplaceable friend in her.

Echoes of Friendship

It's odd, isn't it? This year - a year that I'd hoped would be one of my best but doesn't seem to be going that way so far - I've had the opportunity to appreciate my friends more so than I ever have. When I think about what I am grateful for during this past year, my friends top the list.

Of course, this gratitude has manifested itself in a number of ways. I blog about how lucky I am to have them - often. I'm trying to fill their needs as much as they've filled mine. I look for ways to really thank them for what they've done for me.

I find ways to remind myself of these special people. I've got a bunch of pictures to remind me of them. And I often stumble upon something in art echoes the friendships I've got. This year, in particular, one refrain of one song continues to do that for me.

I've had to look the song up, as it's been included on a compilation CD that I've had since undergrad to which I no longer own the CD jacket. It's called Edge of Falling, by Ethan Pierse (aka Tim Pigman). I've found the lyrics online and a sample (both below, thanks to ethanpierse.com). My one complaint is simply that the sample sounds very different than the song I've got on my Awakening Compilation CD - and the sample sounds very overdone. IMHO, the simpler sound to the song on the compilation CD is more preferable.

In any case, it's the refrain that echoes my dear friendships these days, because I know I've had people pick me up and keep me going.

Thanks, guys. You're the best.

Lyrics of "Edge of Falling"
I've been away so very long
Doing all I said I'd never do.
But now that still small voice,
it is calling to me
Calling me back home to you

Hesitation, don't turn back now, just go on
You know it's too late
Too late to right all those wrongs
Stop to see if you'd been checking up on me
Only to find, you're still looking out to see
Me walking down that road
Can't wait to have you hold me and hear you say, to hear you say

Refrain
I am strong if you are weak
Pick you up and keep you going
Stop hanging on now and walk with me
I am strong if you are weak
Pick you up and keep you going
Stop hanging on now and walk with me at the edge of falling

All my struggles, no telling where or whence they came
But I've got to face them all just the same
Can't turn right, pride and piety beware
I can't turn left, only depravity's left there
Keep looking up, stay in line, and follow the signs and wait
I need to hear you say

Refrain

This isn't a war where I win and where you lose
It's about the chosen and the many and the few
Oh they try to walk straight, but our hearts they turn back
And we're yearning to find something that says we are home
Bring me home
I just want to be home
I am home

Refrain

Amazon.com sample of "Edge of Falling" from The Awakening Compilation:
(click the image below to listen)

"Edge of Falling" sample from EthanPierse.com

Friendship

(January 22, 1999)

In every life there are sunshine people and rainy day people. There are giving people and those who take, but very few of those who understand.

To have someone understand why we cry or laugh, why we feel sad for no apparent reason, is to have a friend. A friend accepts our changes of mood without telling us to "snap out of it." They know that if we could easily handle tears we would have done it already.

All our loneliness and worry and fear seems to fade in the presence of a friend who never judges, but stands along side us with loyalty. My friend, take my hand and walk with me until you can walk alone. It gives us what we need to be a friend as well.

Peace,
Tawanka

My absence from the blogosphere

If you read my blog often (or at least take interest when a new post loads into Google Reader or your favorite RSS aggregator), then you know I've been gone for a while. Or, as I've called it before, I was "going dark." Suffice it to say that there's been a lot going on, much of which required me to write elsewhere.

If you write with any frequency at all, you realize that there are many different reasons for writing. Sometimes, you feel the need to share your thoughts with no one but yourself - and thinking it through doesn't fully accomplish the goal. Your thoughts have to see paper (or a screen). (As an aside, there's a great blog out there, One Year of Writing and Healing, where this theory is proved on a regular basis.)

Sometimes, you feel the need to share those thoughts with your trusted advisors (thanks, guys; you know who you are). Sometimes, those thoughts can be shared with anyone who finds them - ergo, this blog.

In the past four weeks or so, my writing has been limited to the former two, and thus, my posts here haven't appeared with any sense of regularity or timeliness. Surely, if you are a writer, then you also understand that if you find yourself constrained to that ilk of writing - wherein only you and the minds of a select few understand your current mindset - then it's also no surprise that further writing is a horrible chore. When pondering some of the decisions I've been thinking of lately, completely focusing on a different topic is a horrendous endeavor. And, given that my posts often arrive later in the day, the fact that I'm completely out of energy should come as no surprise. Ergo, I've been absent from the blogosphere for a bit.

My marketing mind has a complete conniption at this realization. Although I've not checked my Analytics report, I'm sure that my readership has plummeted (with the exception of the web robots). I know that I need to post on a semi-regular basis (at least) and that it's got to be interesting to keep the readers I've got. I also know that you're supposed to give your readers a clue if you disappear, which I obviously did not do. For that, I apologize.

I've broken rules about blogging that I tell my clients to follow. Sheesh. "Do as I say, not as I do." Please.

While I'm on the topic of blogging, I might mention that I've accepted an invitation to attend ConvergeSouth with my dear friend, Melody. Of course, it now appears that work will get in the way, and I may be only able to attend the Friday evening and Saturday events, but that's life. Gotta keep the clients happy.

More later - and soon. Promise. Maybe tonight, even.