Community. Beautiful. #reverb10

Two prompts rolled into one post today. It’s like the Reeses Cup of Reverb Posts. How can you resist?

Day 7 Prompt – Community. Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011? (Prompt Author: Cali Harris)

Day 8 Prompt – Beautifully Different. Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful. (Prompt Author: Karen Walrond)

Community.

I’ve found it in my neighborhood – for the first time in my life I have neighbors who I’d also call best friends.  They have enhanced my sanity in countless ways over the past many months, and, man, am I grateful for them. (They also ply me with wine, and man, do I love them for that.)

photo courtesy of Kristi Pryor

I’ve found it in my town.  Friends who see your flaws and issues and don’t care, but go the extra mile to help you get around them are pretty damn priceless. (Especially the ones who make thinly veiled crotch jokes with you.)

And I’ve found it where I’ve found it for the last several years: online. On blog, Twitter, and Facebook, and with Skype, I have found, forged, and maintained friendships that will last a lifetime. Many of these are with people I’d never have met, much less had lengthy emotional conversations and in-depth philosophical discussions with, if it hadn’t been for this Information Super Highway.

The Internet saves my life a little bit every day (laugh if you will, I am not joking even a little) by connecting me with people who form a support network that gives me advice, makes me laugh, sometimes makes me cry (jerks) and lifts me up when it seems impossible to be anywhere but down.

Different?

I’ve spent my whole life focusing on the ways I’m different. My parents taught me that it was okay to be different. The world argued.

As an adult I know the truth: we’re all different from someone (which is okay, fabulous even), but nobody is different from everyone. And that is one of the very reasons we can find community here.

Because the things that make us different and the things that make us the same are all beautiful, in their place. They keep us connected while at the same time interesting and valuable to one another. We are able to share different perspectives, experiences, and strengths, while simultaneously finding kindred souls who share our heartsong.

One of the greatest lessons of my life has been this: the most beauty blooms when we don’t focus on either the similarities or the differences, but on being there for one another, supporting, building and growing together. Dare I say it, Loving together. Then we truly thrive.

Community. Beautiful.

Reverb 10 is an annual event and online initiative to reflect on your year and manifest what’s next. Use the end of your year as an opportunity to reflect on what’s happened, and to send out reverberations for the year ahead.

The one where I make you look at my ass. And Elvis.

Have you seen a ton
of Blissdom Conf posts this week?
Here’s another one.

Thought I could not go.
Husband gone and no childcare.
No conference pass!

Thursday? Felt sorry
for myself. A bit jealous.
But then realized…

Your happy is what
you make it. So, Friday I
hopped on over there.

In the parking lot
saw my first three hot ladies.
FLINGER LICKED ME. SCORE!

From eleven to
one:thirty I ran people
down with B’s stroller.

Entered a sea of
mingling, chatting ladies.
Saw faces I knew.

While I still felt like
sort of a jerk outsider,
my spirits lifted.

That night, was honored -
four ladies came to my home!
For hours we all laughed.

Dawn*, Victoria,**
Sammanthia,***Leslie**** – they came -
brought food, drinks, and mirth.

Photo by Victoria, with Leslie’s Phone, Edited by Me. Heh.

A balm to my soul.
Can’t express how I needed
a night just.like.that.

Wasn’t planning to,
but Saturday morning I
hopped over again!

Photo courtesy of Domestic Extraordinaire

More love ly faces…
snapped a bra and then B and
I crashed a session!

Photo courtesy of A Mommy Story

(Oops! Sorry, Alli!)
We’re total rebels! B now
Blog Branding expert.

Photo courtesy of Domestic Extraordinaire

Braden blogged along!
Okay, okay, it was a
Spongebob DVD.

(Damn, this is long, huh?
Heh. Sorry about that guys.
But it’s fun for me.)

I had a short, but
lovely (unregistered) time.
Wish I had seen more!

But Sunday morning,
more fun to be had on the
Blissdom Photo Walk!

Lisa, Jill, Roni,
Colleen, Leighann, Mishelle… then
Maggie and Michelle!

Walked Downtown Nashville,
took photos, chatted… enjoyed
the warm, sunny day.

Photo courtesy of Mommy Always Wins

Swooned a bit over
Elvis. I think Braden was
worried about me.

Photo courtesy of Mommy Always Wins

FYI: Some shots
require you to stick your ass
out for all to see.

Photo courtesy of Mommy Always Wins

Did I have “total
conference experience?”
Hell no, I did not.

What I had instead,
was the best I could each day.
And? That was darn good.

*BEWBS
**”Snort that, bitchez.”
***The “i” is silent!
****She drinks when she cusses, ya’ll.

Doppelgangers and other people you may want to kiss and/or kill

I’m going to tell you a secret.

This here lady you all admire so much? That one called Sarcastic Mom? Yeah, that one. She is to blame for so many of my misadventures in the computing world. And for that, my friends, I’m not sure whether to hug her and feel her sweet teets pushed against my own, or smack her around and box her about the ears and THEN feel up her lovely bosom.

It’s a toss up.

I’ve known Lotus for a long time. A long time in blogging years, which adds up to more than three real years. That’s, like, 50 blogging years, I think. Don’t quote me on that. I’m not a mathematician.

I met young Lotus (which she will always be to me since I have a few actual years on her in my undercarriage) on Myspace of all places. She was part of a circle of friends that I happened to be entangled with, and blah blah blah, we ended up becoming bosom chums for life. I remember when I asked her to be my friend (which sounds so 7^th grade, but you know, it’s Myspace). I said, “You amuse me. Let’s be chums. Shall we?” Sadly, I’ve never been in the same room as Lotus, but I’ve broken bread with her dear John several times and even enjoyed the comforts of his band’s tour bus, so that counts as being in a room with about one half of Lotus.

Again, I’m no mathematician.

I blame Lotus and our lovely mutual friend Amanda (who should be writing her own blog because of her genius, wit, and candor – do you hear me, Amanda?!) for immersing me into the world of online chat. For HOURS. And HOURS. Until the wee hours of the next day. Laughing and peeing ourselves over who comes up with the best insults or vulgarities. Sharing our souls and hearts and gut-wrenching agonies that we don’t dare utter to others, sometimes even the people who share our individual homes.

It’s a sisterhood that I’ve rarely found myself to be a part of.

I wrote endless tales of silliness and such on Myspace, and it didn’t occur to me for a very long time that I was writing something called a blog that other people outside of Myspace would enjoy. I was just delighted with the silly banter I exchanged with the people who dared to comment, which often included Lotus and her five thousand comments on the same entry. Around the same time, Lotus and I had come to the epiphany that we could branch out and unleash our madness unto the masses who may or may not think that we are far too old to be on Myspace.

Sarcastic Mom launched a month or two before my own blog. I watched how my incredible friend went from unsure blogger to overnight sensation in such a short amount of time. Her drive, her charisma, her wit… she won over the hearts and minds of the blogging world with her gorgeous pictures and tales of poop. She is real, and you can see that. I’m very proud to call Lotus my true friend, and I’m incredibly proud of what she has accomplished with her writing.

Now, don’t get me wrong. It’s not all peaches and roses. This lady and I have had words. We’ve had throw-down, biting, harsh words with each other over the most ridiculous and sometimes very serious topics that have come between us every now and then. We make each other cry and yell. After that, we make up. We pet each other and drool and lick, and the world becomes whole again. It’s not often that I encounter someone who can make me so hot under the collar and then absolutely adore her the next day.

Over time, Lotus and I discovered that we have far too much in common. Like, SCARY amounts of things in common. Have you ever met your twin? That person living on the other side of the world who seems to think like you, move like you, and has been through all the ups and many downs that you felt were only your own? We freaked each other out with all of the confessions and stories that were so familiar. I won’t list them here, because my bond with Lotus is more sacred than confessing our similarities to the world. Suffice it to say, we’re both pretty f’ed up cookies.

It’s for that very reason that Lotus and I have such intense rows with each other. Imagine fighting with yourself. Who wins? Who loses? It’s maddening. What I’ve learned from these experiences is that it’s best to step back and see why I react that way to my friend. I’ve learned, the hard way, that most of the time it is because I don’t like what I’m seeing in myself reflecting in the eyes of someone who is so much like me. It’s all very cathartic and insane, but that’s how we work.

When I wasn’t looking, Lotus became one of my dearest friends in such a short amount of time. She is my therapy. She is my mirror.

Despite all of the incredible hardships that this lady has had to endure over the past few years, she built this blog to be one of the biggest in the mommy blogosphere. She started around the same time as I did, and I didn’t have the same drive to keep building and writing and working working working. That’s where the mirror image begins to separate. We both started out strong, and then I petered out. I let things like life and death, babies, miscarriages, finances, and procrastination get in the way of my goals.

Instead of being disappointed with myself, I try to look at Lotus as my inspiration. I can aspire to work as hard as she does in every aspect of my life, no matter how many parents die on me or how many financial disasters burn and singe my flesh. Just hold your giant chin up, Sarah, and follow Lotus’ lead. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and thrust your bust out far and wide.

And then take a picture of it.

So, no matter how far into the doldrums you fall, dear Lotus, I’ll always reach out from the mirror to hold on to you. I can’t thank you enough for the many nights when you signed on “just for a moment” and then saved my life. I was too stoic to tell you, but it’s true.

I hope that anyone who reads this will find their own Lotus, maybe even the very same one as mine (although, back off, bitch, I’m kind of possessive – and so is she… ha!). Look to your friends to inspire you, piss you off, and get you moving in the right direction. Lean on their shoulders but listen to their angst. Get over yourself and laugh. Talk about boobs.

And then take a picture of them.

________________________________________________________________________

When Sarah and I are not busy either engaging in a love fest or scratching out one another’s eyes, she can be found at Imaginary Binky.  She crafts posts of intelligence, honesty, humor, and wit.  Follow along as she takes you with her through the highs and lows of her life.  Think you can “suck on this?”

*Insert Expletive(s)*

Serious technical difficulties here right now.

My (apparently piece of crap) Dell Inspiron 531 – less than a year old – crapped out on me midday Sunday. I was just starting an e-mail reply when the whole system just promptly shut down.

It didn’t say, “Psssst, I’m feelin’ tired, yo… I can has restings?” or anything before it kicked me in the nuts.

Just WHAM. BAM. THANK YOU, MA’AM, rolled over and went to sleep. I was sitting here, in the wet spot, listening to it snore before I even felt anything.

You get the drift.

I’ve tried everything to revive it.

FIrst I pretended that nothing out of the ordinary had happened. I pushed the power button, and as it booted up, I went for a pee break. Nonchalantly, I walked back into the room, input my password, and waited as my desktop picture popped up. Then I clicked the button to open FireFox. WHAM. BAM. F’YOU, MA’AM.

(POWER OFF)

Then I tried saying lots of colorful curse words.

Pushed the power button. Computer started… got as far as the first screen that says, “DELL” and then it clicked off again. (Crap, it’s not even trying to penetrate anymore, DAMNIT.)

Then I tried staring at it in disbelief for several moments, putting my hand over my face, and getting really, really nervous.

Power button. Dell screen. Black Pit of Despair.

Next up, I tried walking out of the room, holding my hand over my mouth so that I would not scream, because Braden was napping in the next room. This was followed quickly by my incredible restraint from a) banging my head against the wall in the hallway repeatedly or b) flinging myself out the second story window onto the sidewalk below.

(Really, is life worth living without access to The Internet? This is my heroin, people. And someone just ripped the needle out of my arm!)

Returning to the room, I tried the technique known as, “Lay Hands On Computer Tower, Quietly Breathing, Then Push The Power Button and BEG GOD TO MAKE IT WORK – PLEASE, OH PLEASE, GOD JUST MAKE IT WORK, PLEEEAAAAASSSSSEEE?????”

God was not hip to fixing my computer.

Next, I actually thought about the “Drop-Kick That Sonofabitch” Method, but thankfully, my better judgment won out. I wasn’t wearing shoes, anyway.

I waited. Tried.

Actually got into Setup by holding F2 at one point.

Unfortunately, the computer was just taunting me. I swear I actually heard it say, “Psych, bitch!” right before it shut down that time.

Now it doesn’t even make it to the DELL screen. It just whispers, “sucks to be you” and winds down immediately.

All of this is to say that my computer is dead to me. Likely, I am going to have to take it somewhere in the coming days and pay out large sums of money that we’re trying to save (for things like student loan payments, medical bill payments, and the downpayment on a freakin’ house) to have it looked at/fixed. (I can only PRAY that it’s even possible for it to be fixed.)

Of course, I’ll have to lug it in somewhere while simultaneously carrying Braden and then try to explain to Unemotional Tech Nerds what happened (as they look at me with the look that says they think I probably don’t even know how to spell my own name). All the while Braden will be running wildly around someone’s business, screaming like a feral monkey, and I will be running after him trying to apply the duct tape with no success.

And I’m not even going to go in depth into the fact that every photo and video I’ve taken since October 2007 is on that hard-drive, and if it’s corrupted, I lose them all. Tons of other documents, too, of course. But the things that capture my kid in time sting me the most.

*stifling cry*

*stifling maddening banshee scream of despair and psychological breakdown*

Right now I’ve got a very old computer hooked up so I can get some things done. Unfortunately, it’s not very trustworthy (I can has lock-ups and crashes, too?) and it could also die at any moment.

I’ll keep posting as I can. Hang in there with me, folks. I’ll try to hang onto the fringe of The Internet that I have my little fingers hooked onto right now. My feet are dangling!

PS:
Dear Tech Nerds: I love you, please do not be mad at me. You are Super Awesome Handsome and Sexy-Hot Tech Nerds and I will love you forever and ever if you fix my computer. All those silly words up there mean nothing. I am just a flighty tart who was tapping out random things on my computer! You are wonderful and amazing, and I will totally touch your no-no spot if you want me to. Just PLEASE OH PLEASE, FIX MY COMPIE?

Sincerely,
Slave To Your Computer Knowledge Having Awesomaciousness