NOT JUST A PLN BUT FRIENDS

Picture: notable-quotes.com

 One of the people that joined the blog challenge is Jena Sherry, her post yesterday Count Your Blessings – Often is what inspired my post for today.

I try to be open and transparent and this post is one that I am writing from the heart.

I have been open and honest on my blog and with some of you more directly about some of the issues that I have faced over the last two years. I know everyone has issues and I am not asking for pity and as you will see that is not the focus of this blog but it puts things in perspective.

In the last two years, both my wife and daughter have been hospitalized, my wife on top of other issues related to a non-cancerous tumor which was removed already 15 years ago is now a diabetic, and for the past year both my wife and I left a toxic work environment and have not had any significant income in a year.

On the positive side; thank G-D the diabetes is under control and we are all healthy, our faith in G-D is still strong if not stronger, my daughters are maturing into young women who volunteer their time helping students with special needs and are happy.  Not a simple thing that teenagers are happy.

My family has always been a constant support and could not have gotten through the good times and the bad times without their help.

However, what are grateful for and truly amazed at  are the  friends that I have developed over the years. We have good friends that we have made in the cities that we have lived and even though we may not see them every day or speak with them every day they  continue to be a an important part of my life. I don’t tell them that often enough, but I know they know it.

Then there is my circle of online friends. Many, of which I have never met in person. Yet  to be very honest,I would consider some to be very good friends whose support is  invaluable to me.

In any event,  I am aware as I look to grow my consulting business and make connections and navigate through the current challenging waters I need their friendship more than perhaps they need mine. While I am OK with that and understand that it makes me at times feel like a nudge. So please know your friendship is important to me and my desire to connect comes from wanting to learn, grow, and help each other.

I want to share a few lines from Jena’s blog that inspired this post:

“I am once again reminded that I am SO blessed! …….My circle of friends has gone through a time of many hardships. We've helped each other through job changes, divorces, deaths of parents, close family members and even children. These events lead us to the epiphany that things happen in life and that we never know how long we will have the gift of one another. ………… All too often, life gets going in a whirlwind and we forget to just sit back, look around, and be thankful for the abundance that we have. “

Thank you Jena for your inspiration and friendship.  Thank you to all my friends both near and far for all your support and for just being there