A Kick in the Teeth – My Support System

My Family. My Friends.

Some days, life has a way of giving you a good kick in the teeth.

There aren’t many a day that goes by, that I don’t worry that a phone call, especially when the phone rings later in the evening when I am lying in bed, or early in the morning before I wake, that that call might be bad news. Not that I make it a point to be negative as I would consider myself a generally positive person. Perhaps Naïve is a better word for it.

I do worry a lot though. It’s not hard to figure out where I get that trait from. For as long as I can remember, my mother has worried about anything and everything, and for everyone. Worry enough for all of us. Worry is such a heavy weight to carry on our shoulders, but in the end, it is nice have so many people to worry about.

When it comes to reaching out to others, I don’t say my regrets, sympathies, offer a hand or an ear or do anything in general that is for the greater good, with the expectation of anything in return. I try to be there for as many people as possible, and I do genuinely care very much for the beings in my life. Whether it’s a close family member or an old school friend I have re-connected with online, or even people I have never met in the flesh who have touched or inspired me in one way or another through various social networking sites.

Do I want something in return? I think the majority of us want one thing or another when we do for others whether we consciously realize it or not; however small or large that something might be. The answer, yes I do. Do I expect it? No. Will I be upset if I don’t’ get it? No. It’s just something I hope for in return One day. What comes around, goes around, so I try to put as much into that path, in the hopes that when I need it one day, some of that go, will come back around to me.

What is it that I seek in return? Support. Not in my writing or my art or anything career or dream oriented, although a kind word or suggestion with regards to those aspects of my life do mean a lot to me. The kind of support I am referring two is the kind that comes during hard times.

I fall in love deeply and eternally for people and creatures. I cried my eyes out on the floor of the emergency vet clinic when I took my dog, Tara, to be put down late two summers past. I had never been through such an experience and I loved that dog like she was my child. She had a beautiful spirit and saying goodbye was truly one of the hardest things I have had to do up to that point in my life.

With a strong support group, these tough times are that much easier to bear. Every word, every touch, every funny joke or inspiring video; every little gesture of love and understanding helps us through those life changing moments.

I am not good with death. I am a fairly quiet person to a fault. I am a very open and affectionate person, but other than through the written word, I haven’t always been good at expressing my love or my worry through physical or verbal emotions.

I know that when someone very dear to me is sick or passes on, that I am going to need all of the support I can to help me through that pain. It’s not something I like to think about, but we all know these times will find us and I know when they find me, I am going to need you and that need can be as simple as knowing you are out there, and what you have meant to me along life’s journey.

People. Creatures. A bright sunshine on a cold winters day. These are the things that help us along the way and with this message, I am thanking each and every one of you, for being there for me. Whether you realize it or not, you are my support group. Just saying hi now and again, however that hi comes, is all the reminder I need, to know how many wonderful souls I am surrounded by.

Yesterday, life kicked our family in the teeth. It will hopefully turn out to be nothing, but it reached deep enough into my heart to make me realize once more, how short and fragile this life can be, and how much I need all of you in my life.

Why wait until life kicks us in the teeth?

~~~~~

This message is for what so many of you mean or have meant to me. How you have or continue to inspire me, or even for what you mean to someone I love.

You are:
My mother or father
My sister
My brother
My child
My grandparent
My aunt, uncle, or cousin
A friend
A family friend

A co-worker or teammate – past or present
Someone who inspires me with your art, your passion, your determination, your dreams
A single mom who through it all, still managed to raise beautiful, loving children
A mother
A father
A child

And I care for you for:
The way you love people. Creatures. The earth.
The way you help others
For all the little things you do
The way you believe in and support me
For the way you love me.

You are perhaps even many of these. Past or present. Living or passed.

Tell someone today how they have touched you.