In
three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life:
It
goes on.
-Robert
Frost
In many ways, this summarizes how I felt this summer. The assault of challenges and ailments seemed at times relentless and without end. Between immobilizing back pain, taking care of friends, mono, the painful reality of **Scumbag's wedding, and several other events, my reserve tank frequently hit empty. Fortunately, my life this summer was also blessed by the presence of three gentlemen. (Yes, feel free to double check that number, but I assure you that you read correctly.) Contrary to popular belief, gentlemen do still exist, and perhaps are not even that scarce. These three gentlemen each played a beneficial role in my life, and thus this blog stands as tribute of my appreciation. With the help of these three men, a summer that otherwise may have been one of the worst of my young adult life, will in all likelihood be remembered as one of the hardest, but most rewarding and fulfilling of any summer. Perhaps most astounding; many of the circumstances were completely or mostly unknown to these men at the times of their greatest assistance. As summer draws to a close, and some major hurdles cleared, I felt it appropriate to dedicate some time to express my gratitude.
In some ways, perhaps this blog is a cheat way of expressing my gratitude. I am about 85% sure that not one of these three gentlemen have ever, or will ever read my blog. It's getting harder to determine though as I gather a larger crowd of blog stalkers from various locations. I am also fairly positive that if they were to read it, they would all be in denial about to whom I am referring. Despite this, I feel this is the best way for me to vocalize (in a manner of speaking) my thanks. I have tried verbally, but I always come up short, and none seem to truly believe they have been so influential. Since I know I will never see at least one of them again, at least this will immortalize the impact they have had. So, without further ado. . . a special thanks to each individually.
Sir Pres: Sir Pres has set an exceptional standard for home teaching. It will take an outstanding and dedicated home teacher to equal his example in the future. Poor Sir, was my home teacher by default, but he understood the real importance of home teaching. He put up with my bizarre requests, and I feel we gained a genuine friendship over the course of the summer. I know I can always count on him for valuable insight and wisdom, as well as to keep a level head.
Sir Teres: Oddly, Sir Teres was probably the most helpful gentleman this summer, and he would probably be least likely of these three to believe so. Unfortunately, I will never see him again, and will never have the chance to return the favor. It is hard to describe exactly even how his friendship was so beneficial to me this summer. I think the closest I can come is to say that he created a simple environment of fun. I often feel like the "fun" side of me spends a lot of time buried, and somehow Sir Teres had a gift of pulling that side of me out and magnifying it. The gentleman tolerated my banter, and threw it back at me. There were parts of myself that I'd almost forgotten existed, things I'd forgotten that I enjoyed doing, characteristics I'd kept buried for such a long time. There is no way that I could ever thank him, and he would never believe or accept the thanks. Regardless, I am grateful, and hope he can understand in at least a miniscule bit, how much I am grateful for our few weeks of friendship.
Sir C: I've known Sir C for a while. We first met last fall when I was trying to figure things out with the Scumbag, but had almost no contact with him again until about a month ago. Again, Sir C probably has no idea how grateful I've been for his help, but I'm not sure how I would have gotten through the last month without his support and understanding of the circumstances. It has been so helpful to have someone who has had similar experiences and can give empathetic encouragement. The encouragement as well as the friendly invites to help get me involved again have been just what I needed.
To these three men, and all the gentlemen out there, I offer my sincere gratitude. I also offer encouragement to continue being gentlemen. Believe it or not, it is noticed and appreciated by many of us of the female gender.
**Please note, especially to all the new blog stalkers I've picked up the last month or so- Scumbag is a name given years ago with the greatest love, and a name of which he has approved and responds. It is not intended, nor is it to be used as a derogatory slander due to current situations.
