Lesley's Life

It was brought to my attention this week that I don’t always verbalize the loving thoughts that I have. Upon reflection, this is true. I think about the things I am grateful for and appreciative of all day long, but amusingly…I tend to be quiet, especially on these topics.

It is high time that changes.

Upon losing my good friend Clint Miller, a lot of things have been brought to the forefront for me. I am making this list an open letter of appreciation of all the goodness I have in my life. In no particular order:

– My health. Outside of some sniffles here and there, I have never suffered serious health issues and for that I am very grateful. I have, over the last few months, embarked on a strict exercise regiment and I feel so much stronger than I have in years. I thank Jill and Barb at Expert Fitness in Westfield for their great facility and motivation…they keep me moving!

– My daughters. They, too, enjoy thriving health and there is nothing more important. Additionally, they are gorgeous (inside and out), talented, funny, sweet, smart and loving. I am amazed each day that such wonderful people could derive from me and I am blessed in the biggest of riches because of their part in my life.

– Morriss. My partner, you are the one that suffers the most from my lack of sharing. I aim to improve my vocalization of my appreciation for you and all that you do for me and the girls each day. You and your son have brought so much love and sweetness into my world and I love being your girlfriend.

– My friends. I am blessed to have a circle of gorgeous, gracious, gentle women to surround me with warmth and love. We hold each other up when we stumble, we celebrate when we succeed, we love unconditionally and it is a rare person who enjoys the bounty of friendship that I have.

– My career (s). So many people gripe about the fact that they work for a paycheck and nothing more. I work hard, sometimes too hard, but I do it with love. My real estate career allows flexibility, no limited income and the ability to really help people. My dance teaching lets me be creative and artistic and free and is a huge stress reliever. Teaching social media brings me joy and excitement…I am a lucky woman.

– My mom. She is amazing. I tell so many stories now that are things that she has shared with me over the years. She is hard working, brilliant, supportive, loving, helpful, patient (you would have to be) and sweet. I love my mom.

– My sister. My first BFF. She and I learned almost everything side by side and although we see the world through different lenses, we continue to share and teach each other. I am so proud of her and her accomplishments and I can’t wait to meet her “little dude” who makes his debut next month!

I want all of you to know what is in my heart. I want to write it here, where you can see it anytime and even if I am gone. I want you to understand that I think these thoughts and many more like them all day every day. You are with me in my spirit, in my mind and in my heart.

I appreciate all of you. I appreciate the beautiful richness that is my life.

I thank the “powers that be” for giving me so much and I will try to make sure that you all hear these things from me far more often.

With love and so much gratitude,
Lesley

#weloveclint

That is the hashtag I created on Twitter the day I found out that my friend Clint Miller was diagnosed with testicular cancer. I felt so helpless and scared and as Clint was in Montana, I couldn’t do anything tangible, but I wanted to do SOMETHING.

The hashtag caught on and my friend Diane Guercio created a prayer page on Facebook which soon grew to 937 members. These members are from all over the world and most of them (myself included) never met Clint face to face.

This man, he touched us deeply. He made us laugh, he challenged us, he called us out and boosted us up and he rocked.

I met Clint first in Active Rain and he was instrumental in my becoming a blogger. He encouraged me to open up and write as myself and share myself with the world. One of his nicknames is “Mr. Glass” because he was so transparent with his life and I have emulated that as I am able.

He and extended our friendship onto Twitter which is where I really got to know him and when Diane and I created the #twitterqueens, he was our first male member. The #twitterqueens group has become a core of best friends all around the world. Some I have had the chance to hug in person, most I have not, but they are my very dear friends.

One day I left the laptop open and my cat sat on the keyboard and sent several odd tweets. Clint was concerned for me and called me to make sure I was ok. He was sincerely sweet and generous.

When Clint was undergoing treatments, several of us purchased him an iPad so he could stay connected with his loved ones while stuck in the hospital. He sent us a thank you video that is so touching. Take a look at the video to see a glimpse of how great he was.

Clint was a powerhouse of a man. Upon hearing that he passed last night I felt desolate and empty at first. Then the power of our amazing group and the spirit of #weloveclint kicked in. We all reached out. I got texts, messages, posts and tweets of love and kindred support.

Today in the #twitterqueens group page on Facebook, I expressed a wish that we could be together at this time. My friend Lisa Oden said this, “Lesley – We are. Whether you know it or not, you’ve all been here through a lot of tough times in my life this year. Today, we are together again. I’m incredibly honored to have such strong, amazing people with which to share good and bad times. ♥ to all of you!!!” Lisa is right, we are all right next to each other, supporting and loving and taking care of our beloved friends, even when we can’t be close enough to touch.

It doesn’t make letting Clint go any easier, but it is certainly amazing to see how a group of people can completely change your life for the better. This online community of people has absolutely changed my life. I talk often about how the people I met through social media have impacted me.

In a turn of awesomeness that I didn’t expect, many messages of support came from people who knew Clint only through what I had posted and shared on my Facebook wall. They posted that he seemed like a good man and have prayed for him.

Losing a loved one is always hard. I am especially concerned for Clint’s family. His amazingly brave wife, Angela, their two young sons and his older daughters are heading into the holidays with a giant void in their lives. I will continue to focus my heart on their family and hope that healing light will descend upon them in this heartbreaking time.

Many of us are working to help the family financially, too. If you are interested in helping you can visit this benefit page and make a donation via PayPal.

Those of us banding together around the #weloveclint hashtag are part of his legacy. I know we will continue to care for each other and that Clint will be giving us a big “rock on” from on high.

Clint, you meant so much to me…you will be missed so terribly much.

#weloveclint #iloveclint #twitterqueens #cancersucks

So, my blog has been acting gitchy lately. S L O W load times and crashing altogether. Diane Guercio and I have been scratching our heads and she has been working tirelessly on plug in maintenance to discern the issue.

These problems have predicated the need to speak with Go Daddy’s technical help (where my blog is hosted) twice this month.

Now you might think that with a title like “Go Daddy Made Me Stabby Today”, I am going to complain about their service. Nope. They were responsive and as informative as they probably could be.

I am here to complain about their on hold music. Don’t believe me? Watch this VERY short video (you couldn’t handle more than this, I assure you):

ps. the blog seems better and Go Daddy tells me they were having server issues on the server my blog was hosted on. I am not happy with that either, but the music is worse. As Morriss said today, maybe they are playing that crap on purpose.