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Friends - 8/18/2006 11:21:36 PM

mistoferin

Posts: 8284
Joined: 10/27/2004
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I am a truly blessed human being. I have been blessed to know and have the love and care of the most amazing people on the planet. Friends.

The last few years of my life have been very trying. The breakup of my Master and I was absolutely devastating. This was immediately followed by the health crisis of my Mother. I was struggling to begin life on my own without Master and suddenly Mom needed me to walk away from that life and care for her and my Father. I had to leave my home, quit my job and relocate from my community. This led to serious financial hardship for me. No sooner did my Mother's health improve enough to allow me to start to rebuild when my own health failed. I was just getting back on my feet and then the proverbial rug was pulled from below me. To compound matters, my sister was diagnosed with cancer...and then my Father. Each day has been a struggle to hold the family together and care for and meet everyone's needs.

Now I could sit here and get lost in the tragedy of it all. People constantly ask me how I manage to get through my days....and even manage to smile through them. If I focused on what is wrong I guess I would probably be overwhelmed by it and be lost. But there has been one bright and shining constant light....the light that is emitted by my friends.

These are the people that have shared all of the wonderful moments of my life....the laughter and the joy. They are also the people who have wiped the tears and provided the shoulders and the hugs that have carried me through these times. The people who have been there in all of the good times....and all of the bad. I am constantly surprised and amazed by them.

No matter how bad things get I know that I am never alone in this life. I only need reach out and there is always a hand willing to reach back to hold. They have sat with me in hospital waiting rooms when my Mother was there. They have sat with me in hospital emergency rooms, surgery wards and sat beside me and held my hand when I wasn't even concious enough to know they were there. They've made me laugh at times that I thought laughter was an impossibility. They've allowed me to cry when they knew that I needed that release.They've taken care of my animals, my parents and my house when I was too ill to do it myself.

This past couple of weeks have shown me a new level of friendship. A friend of mine, due to his own health problems, has had to retire early. He owned a restaurant that I helped him start. He called me and told me to come and pick up his inventory...it was mine for the taking. Everything I need to start my own business as soon as I recover from my upcoming surgery.....everything. When I asked how I could possibly repay him he told me that I had prepaid for it all a long time ago. When he was starting out and needed I was there. I worked long hours and would never accept payment. He told me there was no other person that he would rather see helped by it than I.

My friends have been thrilled for me. They have all pulled together and organized to go down and move and haul equipment. Store equipment. They have helped me to find a location....are helping me to set up my business.

I don't know what to say to them. I don't know how to convey to them how much they all mean to me. I try to be the best friend that I can be and our relationships are definitely give and take. When they need I am there too....just as they are for me. Over the years in the joyful times and in the bad. I hope that I am as good a friend to each of them as they are to me. They are amazing people and I don't know if I could ever really make them understand how much they mean to me....and how blessed I feel for having them in my life. I am humbled by them....and honored to know them.

It is my wish for everyone out there that they can experience the fulfillment of having such friendships.

_____________________________

Peace and light,
~erin~

There are no victims here...only volunteers.

When you make a habit of playing on the tracks, you thereby forfeit the right to bitch when you get hit by a train.

"I did it! I admit it and I'm gonna do it again!"

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RE: Friends - 8/18/2006 11:30:43 PM

Owned1

Posts: 847
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From: Toronto, Ontario
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A wonderful uplifting post. You have taken the rotten side of life and created and realized a positive from it. You seem to be a glass half full person. It is something I try to live my life by, if there is something that can be achieved by moaning groaning and complaining then I will be there with bells on. However we at times need to accept what we are handed and create a positive from it.

Try working in the ER and ICU for over 20 years, you see heart ache and the unfairness of the world. It makes one realize we are all here for whatever time we have and it is up to us to make the most of it.

To make an impact in this life one of the best ways in my opinion is to help a fellow human being. For those who have the money they can do it in a grand gesture. For those of us who dont have the unlimited bank accounts we too can effect change, we can offer a smile to that person in the grocery line with the unruly child who is having a trying day, we can stop and take time to assist someone we dont know in a small seemingly insignificent gesture (some refer to this as random acts of kindness).

If each of us were to offer kindness to one human each day imagine the change that could take place world wide?

In the world we start off with nothing of material value, and that is how we end up. What we have along our path is friends and family. Family we cannot choose however they are family all our lives, friends we can choose, and some friends become family and stay with us for life.

I congratulate you on moving forward in this negative energy period of your life and seeing the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.

If I may also suggest you take the post and copy it to those in your circle and make sure they know how they have made you feel and what a positive influence on your life they have been.

Have a great weekend

Owned

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RE: Friends - 8/18/2006 11:46:22 PM

mistoferin

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Joined: 10/27/2004
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Owned1
You seem to be a glass half full person.

Try working in the ER and ICU for over 20 years, you see heart ache and the unfairness of the world. It makes one realize we are all here for whatever time we have and it is up to us to make the most of it.

Well you're right, I guess that would be a good way to describe me. Although I have certainly had things in my life that have been depressing....I don't know that I have ever been in a state of what I would call a depression. We get dealt a hand of cards....sometimes it's a really crappy hand. Our options are to play or to fold. Folding really isn't much of an option so we play. We can either play smiling or we can play crying. Crying isn't going to improve the hand and it generally doesn't do much but make us feel even worse. So I choose to play smiling.

I think that you have a valid point about life experience. I worked for many years as a Counselor in the Substance Abuse/Domestic Violence field. I saw so much pain...so much heartache, unfairness, tragedy and abuse. When life has me down I find it helpful to concentrate on my blessings and not my misfortunes. One does not have to look very far to find another human being whose situation is far worse than our own. There but for the grace of God go I. I am thankful for what I have and tend not to dwell on what I don't.

< Message edited by mistoferin -- 8/18/2006 11:47:34 PM >

_____________________________

Peace and light,
~erin~

There are no victims here...only volunteers.

When you make a habit of playing on the tracks, you thereby forfeit the right to bitch when you get hit by a train.

"I did it! I admit it and I'm gonna do it again!"

(in reply to Owned1)

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RE: Friends - 8/19/2006 1:47:55 AM

Chaingang

Posts: 1727
Joined: 10/24/2005
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So you will be opening a restaurant? What kind?

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RE: Friends - 8/19/2006 2:01:20 AM

mistoferin

Posts: 8284
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Not a restaurant....strictly catering. I don't have any desire to do short order kind of stuff. I am in negotiations right now with a hall that seats up to 1,000 for starters....and I have been doing this as a sideline for a number of years now so if I can call the hall my "home camp" so to speak....it will fill the gaps between the more seasonal offsite parties that I do. It's not final so I don't want to get overly excited about it yet...but it does look promising.

_____________________________

Peace and light,
~erin~

There are no victims here...only volunteers.

When you make a habit of playing on the tracks, you thereby forfeit the right to bitch when you get hit by a train.

"I did it! I admit it and I'm gonna do it again!"

(in reply to Chaingang)

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RE: Friends - 8/19/2006 9:19:56 AM

Owned1

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From: Toronto, Ontario
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I wish you the best of luck and fortune in your latest endeavour!!

Owned

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RE: Friends - 8/19/2006 10:19:46 AM

mistoferin

Posts: 8284
Joined: 10/27/2004
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Thank you very much! It's always been a dream of mine and I'm really excited at all of the possibilities.

_____________________________

Peace and light,
~erin~

There are no victims here...only volunteers.

When you make a habit of playing on the tracks, you thereby forfeit the right to bitch when you get hit by a train.

"I did it! I admit it and I'm gonna do it again!"

(in reply to Owned1)

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RE: Friends - 8/19/2006 10:30:35 AM

ScooterTrash

Posts: 1407
Joined: 1/24/2005
From: Indiana
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Knowing you personally, all I can say is, "how could you not have friends", you're just that type of person? Jewel told me about the restaurant stuff and I am thrilled for you as well. Maybe we'll do lunch...lol.

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Formal symbolic representation of qualitative entities is doomed to its rightful place of minor significance in a world where flowers and beautiful women abound.
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RE: Friends - 8/19/2006 10:57:56 AM

mistoferin

Posts: 8284
Joined: 10/27/2004
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quote:

ORIGINAL: ScooterTrash
Knowing you personally, all I can say is, "how could you not have friends", you're just that type of person? Jewel told me about the restaurant stuff and I am thrilled for you as well. Maybe we'll do lunch...lol.

Speaking of friends....you guys are awesome. Lunch you say????....oh I think you deserve better than that....nothing short of 7 courses fit for a King! (Off to rack my brain to come up with 7 courses Jewel will eat...lol)

_____________________________

Peace and light,
~erin~

There are no victims here...only volunteers.

When you make a habit of playing on the tracks, you thereby forfeit the right to bitch when you get hit by a train.

"I did it! I admit it and I'm gonna do it again!"

(in reply to ScooterTrash)

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