Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Well, I've come to accept that there's no way that I can be quite as dedicated to this blog as JMS is, but hey, I figure I'll keep it up as best I can!Speaking of JMS, I have been remiss in thanking JMS for acknowledging my birthday. I realize with each passing day how very lucky I am to have met her. There are some mornings, when passing J in the hallway at work, when she looks at me, says "hey, how's it going?" All I have to do is look at her (sometimes adding my version of a grunt) and she responds, "yeah.. me too.." or "aww.. I'm sorry.." Either way, no matter what she says, I always feel validated in how I'm feeling at that moment. I think that I could whine, "well, my feet hurt, I gotta pee, my favorite dog died, there's a swarm of bees up my pants" and she'd respond in a way that leaves me walking away thinking... "ahh.. isn't it nice to know someone cares?"Ok , so that brings me to my real point (because, don't I always have one?)One of my other very best friends once told me that all a woman wants is to know that her feelings- no matter how rational- have been validated. In plain English, whether anyone really does or not, we just want to know that they care enough to listen to us and make us feel important at that moment. Note to all men listening- this does not mean "mm.. uuhh.. huh. ** burp* snort*.. huhuh... oh.. what honey? did you say bees in your pants" nopee... not working! I've determined that having the art of validation is a born talent and not something that can be learned. You either care how people feel, or you don't. Period.I have another friend (wow.. did you catch that, I'm up to 3 friends now?!) who could care less when it really matters, but then expects kudos for trying to act like he cares later. Now why is that supposed to be of benefit to anyone? Again, either you care or you don't.Unfortunately for me, Somewhere in the last 4 years, I've lost the ability to fake it! SSSSOOOOO>... to the real point behind all of this, the nicest part of my life right now is that I don't have to fake- in fact probably couldn't get away with it- if I tried. JMS just knows me the way I am, and for who I am - no questions asked. She just takes it - or me- for what it is.So, my dear friend JMS, this message is directed specifically to you:Thank you for the gift of unconditional friendship the you offer to me everyday. You asked me what special gift you could give me for my birthday. You gave me the best present you could ever give me, and you never even knew it!