Who knows the real "you"?

Spoiler alert----I'm about to get sentimental.  
(Pardon the interruption, I just had to turn on some sentimental, original music written by a dear friend of mine---you know who you are, Jon).  
I miss my husband and my dogs.  M.E. is celebrating her 11th birthday and I couldn't be there to partake in the timeless tradition of her grabbing her stuffed birthday cake.  She chews and squeezes it until it "sings" Happy Birthday.  No, I am stuck in San Antonio due to ice and "wintry mix" (a bit like Chex mix but.....not).  My flight back to Tucson has been cancelled and rebooked four times in the last 8 hours.  Maybe I'll get back tomorrow night.

I really love Dave and the girls and I physically ache with emotion when I can't get back to them after days of travel.  Who, but Dave, will appreciate my stories of how passionate I am about my work?  Who, but Dave, will laugh when I recount my tales of changing the lives of educators across the country?  Who but L.N. will hug me tightly?

Someone else who knows the real me.  Tonight, I am so very grateful for my dearest high school friend, Denise, who came to pick me up (rescued, more like) from the rental car company to take me to dinner before I was to fly out later this evening (when I was so naiive to think I would leave this fair, icy city this evening).  As we ate dinner at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, she shared with me some thoughts about me and my life that only a true friend could totally relate.  She held up a mirror to me and humbled me, like no one has done for me in a long time.  Accolades and kudos from colleagues and acquaintances are like shiny things to me, sometimes.  I love them.  I crave them.  But when a true and honest friend shares thoughts of deep respect, I am moved to tears.  I was moved to tears.  

You see, when people who truly know our hearts hold up a mirror and show us their image of our hearts, it is not only humbling but deeply gratifying.  I have been supremely blessed in my life.  God has given me a life of which I never could have dreamed as a young person.  But it would all be for naught, if it were not for the love and honesty of true friends and family, and for that I am eternally grateful.  

In the words of Nichole Nordeman from "Legacy":
"I don't mind if you've got something nice to say about me,
And I enjoy an accolade like the rest.
And you can take my picture and hang it in a gallery of all the who's whos and so-and-sos that used to be the best at such-and-such.  It wouldn't matter much. 
I won't lie, it feels alright to see your name in lights.
We all need an 'atta boy or 'atta girl.
But in the end, I'd like to hang my hat on more besides the temporary trappings of this world.
I want to leave a legacy.  How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love?  Did I point to you, enough to make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering.  Child of mercy and grace, who blessed Your name, unapologetically.  I want to leave a legacy."

Thank you, Denise, and your entire family for believing in me and our legacy.  

Just for today, remember to tell people you love that you love them.  Remember to tell people you appreciate, how much you appreciate them.  It might just make your day as much as it does theirs. 

Happy Communicating!!!

Shelly