The journey continues.....

Brandon and i attended a wine tasting event with one of my co workers and some of our students. It was a great event and we all enjoyed it. Not only the wine and the food, but also each others company. After the wine tasting was over a few of us decided to go for a drink at a local bar. The conversation soon turned to the class the students were taking and what they were learning about. One of the people in our group works for me - but he is also taking classes. They started talking about leadership and the student next to me leaned over to tell me that Carlos, who works for ,talks a lot about me in class. "All good things" he immediately said. Carlos went on to talk about my leadership style and give examples. It was a little uneasy for me to sit there and listen to someone else sing my praises. Don't get me wrong, it felt good - its just not everyday that you hear someone speak so highly of you to other people and be genuine about it so i guess i was caught just a little off guard. But isn't that what we work so hard for and what we want? For people to appreciate and "like" us? If that is what we want and crave as humans then why is it so uncomfortable for us to hear it? Why is it our first instinct to try to figure out what ulterior motive the person complementing us has? Why cant we just accept that maybe just maybe what they are saying is genuine and they are giving us a complement simply because it is really how they feel and they actually expect nothing in return. It ended up being a great night with great people and great conversation. The journey continues.

I woke up this morning in a pretty good mood. Got my morning kiss from Brandon and went about my business. I decided to work for a few hours from home to try and catch up on emails before i went into the office. I knew if i went in right away chances are i wouldn't get through my emails with all the disruptions i have at work. I noticed i had a missed call from a friend and that he had left a message. I let my mind wander on to the list of things i had to do today and didn't listen to the message right away. One of the things i had to do was to get a hold of two of my students to congratulate them and let them know that they were both going to be awarded a proclamation by the board of trustees of the University i work for. I had recommended both of them for the proclamation after they were the first ever RMU student recipients of a particular scholarship and the university agreed they should be recognized for that. What a joy it was to hear their excitement when i told them both the news. They were both so humble and honored and expressed their gratitude for my nomination on their behalf. The thank you's were almost a little overwhelming for me as i could hear the emotion in the students voices. But that was only the beginning. The journey continued.

I completed going through the ridiculous amount of emails i had in my inbox, i got dressed and got ready for work. Just before leaving my house I decided to check my messages on my cell phone. The message i got was a bit surprising. It was from an old friend who basically said that he was just calling to let me know he was thinking of me. He woke up thinking of me and wanted to let me know how he cherishes our friendship. WOW! That was powerful. I felt so many emotions after hearing that message. Gratitude for him leaving it. Joy for knowing that i have friends like that. I was elated that i had made an impact on someone;s life...to that extent. Don't get me wrong. I work with people daily and i know i make an impact on many students, but what I'm coming to realize is that we as a people don't take the time out to let other people know how much we appreciate the impact that they have made on us - whatever it may be - especially when its a positive one. My journey continued.

On my way to work my phone rang. It was another very dear friend of mine. Her first words to me were "Your going to think this is a really weird phone call". I wasn't really sure where the conversation was going to go from there, but i soon found out. She proceeded to tell me that she to woke up this morning thinking about me and then it dawned on her that she hadn't told me recently how much she valued my friendship, she said she wanted me to know what an exceptional person she thinks i am and that she loved me. WOW! That was powerful! She literally brought me to tears as she expressed her feelings for me as a person and our friendship. It wasn't that i didn't know this. I know we have a great friendship and i know we value each other and the experiences that we have had together, but to hear her say the words "I think you are an exceptional person, I value our friendship, I love you" It was truly overwhelming as this wave of emotion came over me. The conversation went on and we started discussing how each of our lives had changed and how we have both allowed ourselves to let our "busy schedules" get the best of us. When it came down to it we decided we needed to figure out how to take the time for one another. The friendship we have is too valuable to let it go "untouched" for so long. The entire morning was amazing. In a way all of the events of the day validated who i want to be as a person. A great wife, a loving mother, a caring friend, a mentor for my students and my staff, an overall good human being. The journey continues.

All of these events have been a process for me. These experiences are providing clarity. Clarity about who i am and how other people see me. It really got me thinking....Is how i view myself - how others also view me. What would people say at my funeral if i died today. Is that morbid? To me it is all a point of clarity. It would tell me if I'm on the right path. It would tell me if the legacy that i am creating is viewed in the light that i want it to be. So i want to continue this journey and ask you...the people who know me best...what would you say at my funeral if i were to die today?