Do you ever make lists and cross out the things you've done that day? And what about the things you did that day that weren't on the list. Do you add them on the list just so you could cross them out? You betcha do! Such satisfaction in accomplishment, isn't there? I just accomplished something. I finished a bio for a friend who is recording his first cd. He's hoping to get "gigs" (my friend Amy hates that word) around town, out of town, on the streets. Well, not really on the streets because that doesn't pay so well. But he's hoping to find places to play, and people who enjoy his music. I was honored to write the bio for him. But I am fearful that he'll hate it.
He's cute, this friend. Cute like a little boy who is hiding a secret. He has that smile that makes you wonder what he's just done. His wife is cute, too. She's cute like a little girl who is running to her next adventure. Like maybe she's a bit frenzied, like me. In fact, I think she called me "spacy" or "ditzy" or "scattered" or something along those lines. Yeah, you know it, Michele. But to be fair, I called her the same thing. But we love each other so it's okay. We belong to the Sisterhood of Crazed Mothers with Multiple Small Children Trying To Keep Our Heads On Straight Without Having a Nervous Breakdown.
I digress. My fear is that my friend will hate that I said he had boyish charm in his bio. Is that going to be offensive? Is he going to feel like a little kid and less like the man he is? As I pondered these questions, it occured to me that the fear is not about doing a bad job - or a good job. The fear is about how I will be perceived as a writer and as someone with or without talent. It's all about me. Yessiree, the world according to Lynn, through Lynn's eyes, for Lynn's glory, revolving around Numero Lynn-O.
I had just been talking about this sort of vain conceit. This sort of horrid codependence that I seem to find myself wrapped in each day. Ugh, it's frustrating to be a people pleaser so I can feel better about myself. I want to be genuine and selfless. I try. Sometimes.
So, in all my codependency, I thought I would do something good with it. My friend Theresa wondered why she is never mentioned in my blog. Actually, she is. But they're always hidden in sweeping comments about how thankful I am for friends and for truth-tellers. She was the one I referred to the other day... I think it was here... the one who told me to think of what is true when I was down and out. I told her I couldn't think of anything and asked if she would tell me truths b/c I was too tired to think of them myself. She was the one who made our family stromboli last night b/c I've had sick kids, husband and father for the last umpteenth day. She is the one, my fellow writer, who often mispronounces words like me (even though we know how to spell them!) so I'll have someone with whom to be embarrassed.
So, in honor of Theresa and because I love lists of all sorts, here is a top 10 list of things I love about her:
1. I know her so well that I can already hear her saying: "I can't believe you did that!"
2. She challenges me to be a better wife.
3. She prays for me and with me nearly every day.
4. She has a true servant heart.
5. She is insecure sometimes and wants me to tell her I love her just so she can hear it again.
6. She reads and reads and reads and that makes her super smart.
7. She has a passion for raising her little girls to be strong but gentle women and invests in her girls' friends, leading Bible studies, book chats and fun activities for them.
8. She reminds me of her birthday, March 21, March 21, March 21, March 21, because she knows I am terrible with dates.
9. She is a great example of what it looks like to respect and honor your husband.
10. She remembers what I was wearing the first day we met at work - my bluish purple suit, and she said she thought I was pretty - which helps, too.