Acceptance – #WordADayChallenge

Acceptance
#WordADayChallenge

Acceptance.  When I think of the word acceptance, I think of my high school days and how I always wanted to fit in with my peers, but never felt as if I did.  I don’t know what it was that made me feel that way.  Perhaps it was just my self-consciousness coming into play, perhaps it was because I always felt awkward, perhaps I was just looking for someone to say, “I see you, I hear you and you matter”.  I still can’t answer that to this day and it’s been 29 years.  Those middle school through high school years mold you into who you are today (along with many other things I’m sure).  When I look at myself today, I still want to be accepted.  Accepted by my family, friends, co-workers, clients and fellow bloggers.  Some days I feel as if I am all alone in this world trying to tackle the simplest of things only to fall short with no one there to lend a hand.  I never had a close group of friends that I felt 110% at ease with, that is, until I looked outside of my own school and found an amazing group of girls (and guys) that really did make me feel welcome.  It’s hard being older and making new friends, especially friends from a rival school.  I imagine kids in todays world long for that same feeling of acceptance.  Some are lucky to find it right away, others struggle for it and sadly, may never find it.  

Sure, we all had our thing, but we never judged each other and we were always there when someone needed us.  I remember the day I met my best friend in the whole entire world!  It was my first job and I remember meeting her thinking she is the craziest, most outgoing person I had ever met and I really did want to be like her.  Back then, when big hair was a thing, she had the biggest, longest, most badass looking hair and I had this short, flat and stringy hair that I permed.  Don’t even get me started.  She probably had her hair permed too for all I know.  I have this picture of the two of us, and I just remember thinking to myself, I have found the sister I never had but always wanted.  We had a few ups and downs.  We weren’t perfect.  But, we accepted each other, continued to love each other and to this day, she is the one person who will hold a special place in my heart for eternity.  We have been friends for 31 years.  (Gosh that makes me sound so old, doesn’t it?)  I don’t even know if she realizes just how much her friendship has meant to me over the years.  Perhaps after reading this, she’ll know.  *wink wink*

She had accepted me for who I was then and who I continue to strive to be.  Everyone needs a person.  Yes, I am referring to Gray’s Anatomy.  In my opinion, she is my person.  I believe that people come into your life for a reason.  I honestly don’t know what my life would have been like had I not been offered that first job at Brooks Fashion in 1985.  We connected instantly.  What was even stranger, that we found out later, was our grandparents actually knew each other!  Talk about 6 degrees of separation & small world.  There was a divine intervention taking place for sure!  

We continued to be friends through high school and later she met a guy at a party and eventually she brought me to one of the guys friends graduation party.  It was there that I met my husband.  She ended up marrying the guy she was dating at that time too.  So, we married two guys who were friends and who knew each other.  We were then pregnant at the same time, and had our babies the same day.  If that doesn’t seem so odd to you, we were in the same hospital, same day, one room apart, both having daughters, who ended up sharing a nursery.  Needless to say, we are each of the girls Godmothers.  Yes, our daughters share the same birthdays and they were born in the same hospital only a room away from each other.  Our daughters are now what I call, soul-sisters.  They have a connection to where they can go a year without seeing each other but when they do, it’s so weird how they click back together.  Like mothers like daughters is all I can say.

So to you my best friend, I owe this #WordADay Acceptance blog post to you.  Thank you for always being there for me and for making me laugh when I want to cry.  Thank you for being there when I feel like no one else is.  Thank you for understanding my craziness.  Thank you for being there during life’s ups and downs and forcing me to look at things through a different lens.  Thank you for your love, your honesty, but more importantly, thank you for your friendship.  And, of course, thank you for always accepting me for who I am, flaws and all.    

—-

If you are taking part in my #WordADayChallenge don’t forget to link up your posts here!

Tomorrows word is Bravery.