I have not written anything in a long time. This has been about time--commitments, school (mine and the kids'), the remodel, the side business, life, and disinterest. I've been disinterested and disenchanted in blogging since my eyes were opened to how absorbed I had become in a life inside a computer instead of a life in which one actually rolled up one's sleeves and got one's hands dirty. I credit my husband for finally dropping the hammer on me and forcing me to put down my iphone.
I spent three years without an iphone and I think it helped me a lot. Being less tethered was a great thing for me, but I will admit that I lost touch of some people who had been really important to me for a long time. I will also admit that my new found freedom from writing and reading blogs all the live-long day made me somewhat smug and superior acting. I was so enthralled with THE WORLD and FACE to FACE relationships that I just couldn't imagine what everyone else was still doing blogging, advertising their posts, schmoozing for re-tweets about their posts, etc... In fact, I still think it's pretty silly, but that's because I'm interested in you and your feelings in REAL TIME rather than in some pithy prose that you've written in order to describe your feelings. Oh! The feelings!
What is my point? Well, it's that there are very few people who I can think of that have gone the distance with me. From 2006 when I was deep in the belly of the proverbial pain body through separation and eventual divorce, and in the in between times all the way to the present there are less than a handful of people who I can think of that had contact with me probably every day. It could have been just a check-in, to share a joke or it could have been something big like heartache or loss. Right now, one of those "less than a handful" people is really on my heart. Dawn is moving toward the end of her life right now. As I sit here and bite my tongue to choke back tears and remember what I wanted to say, all I can think is that this sweet, kind woman has done so much for me--maybe more than she can ever know.
She has been the person who I emailed, texted or tweeted with almost every day since 2006. Dawn is the person who I'd roll my eyes over for always being positive while I served up my trademark piss and vinegar. She's a person who I believe could almost be mistaken for being naive, but a closer look would tell you that she's resolute and pragmatic. Dawn knows what real problems are, and she would never minimize yours, but she might quietly just tell you it would be okay even if you were screaming in your own mind that it NEVER. WOULD. BE. OKAY. She won't tell you to shut up---she'll tell you to tell her "something good." She'll implore you to be #moarhappyer, and I promise that by indulging her and coming up with something worthy of that hashtag, you will have your spirits lifted.
I always said that Dawn and her husband, Mike, have the most enviable of online relationships. In fact, I don't know another couple who peacefully coexist on Twitter. They tease, exchange silly comments and check on each other throughout the day where most couples would be passive aggressively wondering "WHO LEFT THE TOILET SEAT UP AGAIN #husband." They're a good team. It's easy to be friends with both of them because though they have separate voices, their messages are essentially unified.
{Again, my point? I'm rambling, I know. I have a million tear soaked thoughts that I want to express right now.}
I think I just want to say that Dawn is kindness, and by saying how she has affected me I mean it to convey her goodness. The long lasting effects of someone who you've never met face to face are surprisingly powerful. It's the blessing of this digital age: When we feel so jaded by the real life relationships that sour there is this wonderful, redeeming group in the ether that lifts you up if you so choose to partake of it.
So, I will compulsively check Twitter and Facebook for updates. I toy with sending her just one more text message to say I love her. I may have minutes of utter paralysis in which I don't know which end is up because of the grief I feel. But, I would be foolish if I didn't harness what I imagine Dawn would be asking us to do right now. That's to be #moarhappyer---to find more reasons to feel happy than to feel sad. Failing the ability to truly be happy right now, it might be worth exploring what it means to be #moarkinder or #moargentler or even #moarstronger.
Also, please consider a gift in Dawn's honor through the Melanoma Research Foundation.
