Posts tagged appreciation
Always quality over quantity
Jan 19th
It’s been a few days since I’ve checked in and I promise I won’t be returning to those extended periods of silence. Something came up, however, and I had to deal with it and the process was very exhausting.
I’ve realized, lately, the importance of friends. I know I’ve always been a bit more introverted than the usual person, but I’ve been coming out of my shell over the past years and having good people around you is key to remaining stable and happy. I guess a lot of it comes down to the relationship I have with Melanie. To be in a relationship, you have to open up and she cracked me a peanut. The rest just comes with the territory, I guess.
High school is a lot like Myspace. The number of friends you have always seems like a big deal and people go for as many friends as possible. There’s always exceptions, but I know most people, when I were in high school, called way too many people their “friends” when they were really just acquaintances, at best. I was no different. Even in my shy and loner ways, I tried to be everybody’s friend and desperately tried to add to that total number. I kept a lot of people around and in my life when all they did was take from it. Things have changed, though.
I’m the first to admit that I don’t have many friends. I’m just not that guy. The few friends I do have, however, I appreciate more and more as time goes on. I’m not going to mention names because I’m sure some people will feel excluded and throw a hissy fit for no reason, but if you’re my friend, thank you. You guys have been immensely helpful as I go through my 20’s and I’d be much crazier if you all weren’t around to keep me in check. Forget dozens or hundreds of friends, I only need a select few good ones and you all fit that bill so well.
Taking technology for granted
Dec 29th
People my age and younger tend to take technology for granted. This was never made so clear to me as it was this past weekend when I witnessed a simple piece of technology affect someone in a way I never expected.
Leaving out details and such, I witnessed an elderly woman receive a digital picture frame as a Christmas gift. The people giving it to her took some time to pre-load about 50 pictures of various family members and such. As they plugged the frame in to show her how it works, the pictures began to play in a slideshow and she was, literally, moved to tears by it. This is the same technology that I scoffed at, so many times, as I put a number of different models out while at work. It just didn’t seem that amazing to me, yet, here was a woman crying because of how amazing this all seemed to her and how happy she was to be able to see so much family history right there on one little screen. It really blew my mind.
I guess that I sometimes forget to step back and really look at things from different viewpoints. It’s difficult to do so, but a moment like this really opened my eyes to how I need to appreciate the simpler things in life a little more often.
An amazing vacation
Jul 12th
Well, I’m back from the Poconos and, let me tell you, I had one of the best times of my life.
We did so much while on vacation that it would be difficult to cover it all, but I have to mention a few of the highlights, at least. The first thing we did, as a group, was go river rafting. Now, as you could imagine, not being a swimmer, I was a little nervous about the whole drowning thing. My fears were calmed, though, after getting comfortable on the raft and I had a pretty good time rowing down the river for the 3 mile stretch. It took me a while to get the hang of rowing, but once I did, I was fine.
On the topic of water activities, we also went to a water park later on in the week. Camel Beach is a pretty nice park with the exception of the ice cold lazy river and the Triple Venom slides that left welts all over my back. Even though I’m not a swimmer, there was only one ride I couldn’t really go on, so I had to sit by as Melanie did it. I felt a little excluded, but we did the tube version of that ride immediately after, so it helped pick up my pride a bit. I had a good time, in the park, but the grey skies led to a chilly time that definitely put a damper on the day.
The last major activity was on Friday when we took a hike through the Bushkill Falls trails. There was some breath taking scenery and some fun hiking when we accidentally went off the trail and I had to balance across a fallen log and jump across small streams. The scenery was also gorgeous and I got some great pictures. I can’t wait to see if I can make any decent wallpapers out of them.
We did so much more on the trip that I’m not going to bother going in depth about. There was mini golf and pool time and a jacuzzi among other things and all of it was amazingly fun. I have to thank Melanie and her family for inviting me. It was exactly what I needed and I will never forget it.
If you want to see some of the fun we had, you can check out my Facebook album, Poconos 2009, which contains over 50 pictures from the vacation.
Happy Mothers Day
May 10th
I just want to take this time to wish two people a Happy Mothers Day.
Mom: If it weren’t for you, living on my own would be extremely difficult, with the way things at work have panned out. You’ve been amazingly supportive in every way imaginable and I’m not sure a simple “thank you” can ever capture the true amount of appreciation I have for what you do. Thank you, though, for everything.
Grandma: You’re always understanding and sympathetic and always wind up throwing small snacks my way which are a cherished treat. You also make some amazing mashed potatoes and meatloaf, which is appreciated even more. You’re the best.
To every other mother that I know who has been supportive and helpful, including Melanie’s mom, Cindy, and both of her grandmothers, Happy Mothers Day!
