Let me take a second to congratulate myself on a clever title for a post about writing notes to friends. See what I did there? Go, Melisa! When all of the self-isolating (or social distancing, physical distancing, quarantining, or whatever we’re calling it these days) started a couple of months ago, the vast majority of us resorted to doing whatever made us feel better. That is to say, in a time when we’ve had (and continue to have) to do something that is for the most part extremely uncomfortable—staying home most or all of the time—it seems only natural that we would choose to spend our time doing the things…
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Lean On Me.
For some reason, whether it’s Mercury being in retrograde (is it still? I don’t really keep track) or just a massive coincidence in time and space, I have a bunch of really good friends who are currently hurting and stressed. They have recently lost loved ones, have loved ones in the hospital, have financial issues, or are experiencing a personal health crisis or marital strife. It’s awful. There’s a lot of heartache out there. Being someone who throws her whole heart into relationships, I carry around a feeling of helplessness in regards to the struggles of my beloved friends. It simmers gently, just under the surface, bubbling up when I’m…
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Just Give Me A Second And I’ll Figure It Out.
Unfortunately, all of the answers can’t be found on Google. I mean, LOTS of them can…but often there are questions or problems that can’t be resolved by typing in a query. Here’s what I do when I have a dilemma: I call someone to talk it out. Now, you might think that when I say “talk it out”, I mean that I’m calling that person to have a two-person exchange about my issue and then hang up feeling triumphant because we have figured it out together. Good job. That’s what I thought I was doing too, for a while. Not so. I mean, that’s my INTENTION, but that’s not exactly…
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#BlogHer14: It Was About The People
On Sunday night I returned home from San Jose, California and the tenth annual BlogHer conference. This was the sixth BlogHer conference for me—the second as a team member—and while it was exhausting, it was also just SO GOOD. I’m still recovering, in fact. Reentry, the adjustment back into my everyday life, is the very worst part about attending this conference for lots of us; for me it begins when I say goodbye to my friends and continues as the exhaustion—which has been building for months and approached breaking point last week—sets into every pore and then doesn’t leave for days. FOR DAYS. I expect to regain the ability to…
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Somebody’s Gotta Do It.
It’s probably not news to you, but I’m very extroverted. I can talk to just about anyone, I’m very comfortable in group situations, and I do tend to, as my sister calls it, “always choose the Fun Pass”. (My sister ORIGINATED the Fun Pass, by the way. We’re good at Fun.) A dear friend I’ve known since high school is not extroverted. (Nothing wrong with that!) In fact, we’ve had countless conversations over the years about how anti-social and introverted she is, in direct comparison to my place on the other end of the spectrum. If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard her say, “I’m just not…