to be known...

One of my biggest hopes AND greatest fears is that I will truly be known by another. It seems that at times people I have known almost my whole life look at me and say, "Who the heck are you ?!?!??!???" Or worse yet, they don't even bother to ask the question. Then there is this crazy world of blogging where 'virtual' friends speak to me as if we were cloned from the same DNA even though we have never set eyes on each other. It is like they are mystics who can read my mind and feel my emotions while they are happening to me. Most special of all, however, are the times when someone you have known for awhile (maybe not even a long while), someone you know "in person" lets you know that they have been paying attention. That they get you. That you have made their world a little brighter even though they have seen you warts and all.

This past week I was blessed with such an honor as friends joined together to help me celebrate my birthday. At the risk of tooting my own horn or Never #4 "boasting of my own accomplishments" (even though I'm not sure being born is considered an accomplishment), I wanted to share the tender words sent to me by a very precious woman.

9.11.08 "On this most blessed of days not too many years ago, a beautiful baby was brought into this world. No one really knew what her path would be, especially this child who had many 'parents' in her Mom & Dad as well as her much older siblings, to guide her path with right & wrong, good enough or not, proper life path, direction, whew! Enough to wear a kid out!

But inside this shiny star, her truth waited for her, patiently. And this girl, young woman, woman, grew & grew and even when she smiled and followed a path not of her choosing, something inside simmered and waited. Through rocky paths and broken promises and choices that hurt her heart. Through the trials and thrills of children, the joy and frustration of marriage, she bravely marched. And inside, still, something asking questions, something waiting to burst forth. And to her great surprise, through the toughest period of her life, the path of destruction and resurrection of her son, came IT. A path that was created and worked on and walked by herself, Lucy, and no matter the hurdles thrown up, inside or outside, She knew, finally and forever, that she is of great value to this world, and what she offers and puts forth is pure and lovely.

And she is loved by her friends and the people whose lives she touches every day. And that feeling in her gut? Well, that's a belly laugh that is full of hope and very contagious! And she spreads that feeling with her heart and her voice and her eyes.

That is my birthday story of Lucy, and I'm stickin to it! I wish for you a day of belly laughs, surprises and knowing that you are loved, by many, including me. :) signed by "Precious"

mixed media collage by lucy