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and the honor goes to...part 3

This will be a series of posts in which I honor people who have made an impact in my life, both in my past and in my present. I am blessed to still have some of these people in my life; others have left this life for another; and still others are no longer a part of my close circle, yet still made a difference to me. I want to share them with you. I want to honor them. I want them to know how much I love and respect them. The third one is dedicated to one of my very best friends, Casey B.

"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

When I met you, a little over two years ago, you were unlike everyone else in my life at that time. You came in like a whirlwind, blowing away all of my insecurities about who I am. You taught me that it is okay to embrace the real me, with all of my junk, and faults, and scars;  that being true to myself is more important than being what others want me to be, more important than their thoughts, words, and opinions. You insisted that I drop every mask, every false front, in your presence and just. be. me. No pretenses, no fakeness, just me. You embraced all of the me that I am, the good and the uncertain, and accepted it as being who I am, without question, without judgment, without condemnation. You allowed me to rip away the outer, expose the inner, and to feel completely safe in the process. You pushed me to reach higher, dig deeper, find more. 

 
"And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same."  ~Marianne Williamson

You displayed what it really meant to be comfortable in your own skin, to embody all - every single piece - of who you are, who you were created to be, and then to display it without shame. This is why I am a better person today. This is why I honor you.


















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This will be a series of posts in which I honor people who have made an impact in my life, both in my past and in my present. I am blessed to still have some of these people in my life; others have left this life for their next one; others are no longer a part of my close circle, yet still made a difference to me. I want to share them with you. I want to honor them. I want them to know how much I love and respect them. The first one is dedicated to my childhood babysitter, Pat B. Growing up, both of my parents worked. This meant that my sister and I went to a babysitter when we were younger. We had a few, but the one that we spent the most time with, and that I remember the most, lived right up the road from us. We were actually neighbors, but being in the country, that meant a cornfield separated us. I recall being there when I was in kindergarten until I was old enough to stay by myself, probably around 12 or 13. I love to reminisce about my time there. It was my home away from ...