Relationship Appreciation

Like I said in a previous post I have had a bittersweet year. I have also said previously that I had to let a friendship go. I was also ready to let my marriage go. So in all this I have learned to appreciate the relationships in my life, and the people behing those relationships. When I say relationships I mean all kinds, romantic, friendships, familial, and otherwise. Since being active on the internet I have also made several online relationships and have connected with some of those people in real life. Granted most are not people I see all the time but, I appreciate what they have brought to my life. So here I will list a few people whom this past year have become a very big part of my life in many ways and have touched my on different levels.

Jenn S.: I met Jenn on Livejournal I believe around 2003. Joaquin was still very little and soon after I became pregnant with Maggie. We read each others entries and talked occasionally on Yahoo. When Maggie was born, I got my first real glimpse of the kind of soul she was. Maggie was tiny and not fitting into anything we had for her, diapers and all. I had blogged about my frustration and how I was trying to remedy without going broke. Joaquin was still in diapers and Jimmy was working lots of hours and not making much. She sent me a message asking for my address. I thought I was getting a card. To my suprise a few days later there was a package and everything I needed for Maggie until she put on a few pounds. We still talked on yahoo, we talked on Myspace and Now we talk on Facebook and through Text. She has listened to me and I to her. There are so many parallels in our lives and I have to say I can not wait until we meet in real life. We jokingly said once we would wear cat lady sweaters. At that time we both had a cats as friends on Catster. Recently she dropped a lot of weight and sent me a package of clothes and hair flowers. Her generosity has given me reason to pay it forward to another online friend...Vanessa. I have to say Jenn, I love you and hope to see you soon. That way we can do what we have planned! :) P.S. She is newly engaged!

Vanessa C.: I think we met on Myspace. I friended her and not really sure why but, felt a connection. Before the birth of her son O. we actually talked on the phone once. She needed some adult conversation. I knew how she was feeling, home with the kids and such can leave you craving adult conversation. We have talked via messages on Myspace and now Facebook. We find out more about each other through blogging and I think if we lived closer to each other, we'd be really good friends. We could make vegan cupcakes, play the uke and wish we could play banjo like our husbands. We could swoon over Ira Glass and The Avett Brothers. We could talk about depression, moms and kids who draw on the walls. Wait, we could do that now but, it's better in person. We could drink fancy coffee and watch our girls put on makeup and talk about who like pink more. Maybe one day.

Heather M.: We were never really friends in school but, we knew who each other were. In finding her on Facebook( I sense a pattern), I have come to know her. She is a great woman of strength and love. Many of my heartaches have been hers as well. We are working on a project to tell the stories of woman and men who have been sexually abuses. Inspired by a song on Youtube. I would like to go geocaching with her and have her teach me to crochet.

Jeremy M.: We knew each other in high school and once went on a date to a concert. He was shy and still very much is that eternal Charlie Brown. Since finding him again on Facebook (yep, there is a pattern) we have become great friends. He reminded me of who I was and brought out my creative spirit. I can't say for sure what I have brought into his life, but, know there is a connection. We usually meet once a month for coffee and talk. I look forward to those times. We have very similar in how we see people, relationships and the world and how music ties into that. My husband teases that we are music snobs and then he laughs. My kids like him and when he gifts a Nirvana set to my oldest, he really made his month. Made the guitar we got him small potato's, because it was something Jeremy had owned and our kids value when someone gives a gift that was once the gift givers rather than something new. Anyhow, I look forward to a lifelong friendship with Jeremy, he is a kind sould and a giving person.

Last but, not least Jimmy. My husband and bestest friend. We have been through a lot this year and it is a wonder we can look each other in the face. I guess, knowing that most would not be able to do that, means that love it the strongest root. Hearts can stray, words can be said and tears can be said but, that root is hard to dig out. It's tangled from the people who have been in our lives and knotted from the heartache. There are roots that have branched out from our kids and now one of them has there own kid. This year our leaved changed colors many times and sometimes the leaves fell to the ground earlier than expected. Yet, we remain hand in hand and look each other in the eyes. 16 years of friendship and almost 12 years of marriage and we are still working on things. I suppose anything good needs work, watering, nurturing and love to grow. Our friendship and marriage is no different. He is a great supporter of all my hair brained schemes and even at times gets pulled in to do some work on them. I sometimes feel selfish in what we have because, he puts me first and often does not allow me to consider him. He drives me crazy, I have to threaten physical harm to him to get him just to tell me what he wants! Maybe it was the way he was raised, I don't know. But, I like when he is happy. We have been creating and covering music together lately, I love that time together. Looking forward to many more of those times.

Looking forward to many more days and memories with all of you.

Love and Friendship,

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(for #reverb10)