A Blogger is Born

I have always loved reading that email forward that discusses the value of the different people who come in and out of one's life and how one should forward these wonderful bits of wisdom to all the people who have made a difference in one's life. I would have forwarded the email to all of those wonderful people, but I didn't want the bad thing at the end of the email to happen to all of those people who really mattered to me if they failed to forward it. It really does make me start thinking about those people who have made a difference in my life and why they have made a difference in my life.
My first post is about one of those special people. The actual cause of the meeting was "flood". We were actually forced to share space because the room she was located in had flooded and she was relocated to the room I occupied. During this time I learned about her family, friends, interests, and all of those general things you learn about people you work in proximity with. But, I also learned about the kind of things that change the person you are for having known someone. I learned about how much she adores her family, immediate and extended, and it made me want to be a better wife, mother, grandma, mother-in-law, daughter, daughter-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, and aunt. I learned about the dedication and commitment she has for the profession she has chosen and it makes me work harder at mine. I have also learned that if you stick your neck out a little bit to make a friend, people do respond (and become your Facebook friends-she does have 136 as of this date!) And, sometimes I think she might even listen to some of the unsolicited "gems of wisdom" I give her (and of course that makes me feel needed and important!) This list does go on, but I really want to get to this last one I'm going to include in this post. And that last point being, she taught me about blogging!! I'm not sure where this is going, but this first one is for you Amanda! It has been my pleasure getting to know you this year.