Reverb 10: Friendship

Friendship:   How has a friend changed you or your perspective on the world this year? Was this change gradual, or a sudden burst?

Being a pastor and an eldest pink  and more of an I than an E-  I don't always strike out and make new friends easily.  I've been trained about keeping boundaries.  I have been trained to not want to inconvenience people.  In my professional capacity I can make small talk, but asking someone if they want to have lunch or go to the movies?  That's harder to do.

This year I found myself needing to try harder in the outreach department.  And what's hard is that there are lessons I learned before that I found myself having to relearn.  Sweet Girl and I once agreed that we tend to assume that the other one of us is too busy, too groovy or too something to want to make time to hang out with the other one.  This of course, is pure nonsense!  I love Sweet Girl!  I'd rather eat sushi with her than anyone else in the world.  And then there's Doc.  Who wouldn't want to hang out with her?  These two women have provided me with comfort, conversation and diversion this year when I desperately needed it.  All I had to do was ask.  That's the trick.  Ask, invite, call, email, text.  Friendship is all around us, we just need to be daring enough to wade into the water.

An editorial comment:  I got my "secret identities confused."  This is what happens when you haven't blogged in a while.  Sweet Girl is Pseudo's mommy.  Dorothy moved south and I miss her dearly!  I think we should have a store reunion with all my favorite staff people! 

Reverb10: 5 Minutes

Imagine you will completely lose your memory of 2010 in five minutes. Set an alarm for five minutes and capture the things you most want to remember about 2010.

• Your husband had esophageal cancer.  He was in the hospital seven times in seven months.  This is why you are exhausted physically and emotionally.  They think they got all the cancer but he still has to do some more chemo.  This makes him vomit.  And vomit loudly.
• Oh and he got his gall bladder out, too.  Sheesh!
• Your daughter has applied to college.  She really wants to go to Susquehanna University.  She's picked it for all the right reasons.  You are hoping that this will all work out.
• Your grandmother died at the age of 100.  You saw her in January at her party.  She was her usual good self just a bit more fragile.  Her children miss her so very much.  Remember, just because they lived a long life doesn't make it any easier to say goodbye.  In fact it may make it harder because you're used to having them around.
• Your niece came to stay with you this summer to take care of the Bug Man.  She was amazing in her ability to cope with all that was going on.  Your mother has visited so many times that you've lost count.  The Bug Man clearly has a crush on her.  ;-)  Your M-I-L was here for ten days as well.  It was challenging for both the mom and son, but a good visit.  It's hard to see someone you love be in pain.
• You wish people wouldn't just ask about the cancer.  You know they're concerned, but could we please talk about something else for a little while. 
• You worry that all you ever talk about is the cancer.
• You have papers to finish for that class you're taking at the sem.  Deadline is Friday.  You may not get them finished, but give it your best shot.  It's been a good class for stretching your thinking.  It's also helped you see how you could spend the next ten years getting your Master's in Sacred Theology.  One class at a time...
• You still have a job.  So don't forget to order the Spring textbooks for the store.  People will want to buy their books and it would really suck if you didn't have what they want at the seminary.
• Your cat Timothy died this summer. It was sad to say farewell after 13 years. You adopted a new cat last month. He's a kitten. Not a replacement cat. A new cat named Moonshine.
• The Bug Man's employers continue to hold a job for him. This is a really good thing.  They have said that he should take his time so that he can come back feeling good.  He's shooting for February.  You've decided you'll be happy with March.
• You have not completely lost your sense of humor, but there are days...

Reverb 10: Prompts for the sloppy blogger?

So here's the story...

At the end of 2009, Gwen Bell launched a creative end of year project and invited a few bloggers to join.  The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge (#best09) encouraged online creators, through daily prompts, to dive into the past year and reflect on it to understand ourselves. Last year was the first year of the challenge. Around a thousand people participated (online), and by all accounts had a blast.

Reverb 10  is now an annual event... It’s an open online initiative that encourages participants to reflect on this year and manifest what’s next. It’s an opportunity to retreat and consider the reverberations of your year past, and those that you’d like to create in the year ahead. We’re connected by the belief that sharing our stories has the power to change us.   From http://www.reverb10.com/the-story/

Since I have become a sloppy blogger, I have decided to give this a try.  We'll see what happens.