A Pause for Judy

 Friends  7 Responses »
Dec 082011
 

Please take a moment and say a prayer for Judy of Just Enjoy Him. Today she entered hospice.

–

Judy and I met years ago via the adoption groups on LiveJournal. When we realized that we lived close to one another (an hour and twenty minutes is close in Ohio, you guys), we struck up a friendship. She is an adoptive mom, and was one of the first real life adoptive mom people who embraced me for who I was. Over the years, she attended birthday parties and hung out with us at a local state park. We had lunch and exchanged snarky messages about everything from adoption to books. She remains my favorite snarky librarian.

In December 2007 she was diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer. She was actually diagnosed with cancer just after my mom was in September of that year and the two also forged a friendship over some shared experiences — and some differences.

Today I am sad and angry and praying and all that goes into not wanting to lose a friend. I ask you to do the same. Judy has been a voice in the blogosphere for years. About adoption, about ethics, about books, about faith, about cancer, about life. I encourage you to pause today to read a bit of Judy, to say a prayer for both Judy and her family and to cover them all in your love today.

 Posted by at 1:39 pm

Laugh or Die: This BS Makes Us Stronger

 Friends  4 Responses »
Aug 102011
 

While Hallmark has great mainstream cards, I usually turn to Robin Plemmons‘ Etsy store, Lemons with a Pea, when I need to say something more off the cuff. I may have gotten my husband a fantastically hilarious card for Valentine’s Day — and we don’t even celebrate Valentine’s Day. But I couldn’t pass it up. It made me snort-laugh.

At the Aiming Low party on Saturday night, we were treated to a free card from Robin (as she walked around writing on us with Sharpies which was absolutely fun and fantastic and hilarious and snort-worthy). I was in line with KatjaMichelle when we got our cards. We looked at them and both burst out laughing. Some of her exchanges at the conference were, shall we say, colorful as she was brave enough to put “open adoption blogger” on her business card. Girl be crazy!

But anyway, the card:

I <3 Robin Plemmons

Front: All this BS is gonna make you strong, em-effer.

Inside is blank so you can write your own words of encouragement or cuss about whatever your receiver is going through at the given time. So freaking appropriate, no?

I loved this card. Because it’s true. Because it’s bright and cheery when such a sentiment usually accompanies something that is not so bright and cheery. Because it’s something that I would say to my closest of friends. Not in the immediate aftermath of something extremely crappy, but later, when the haze starts to lift a little… when the light at the tunnel is almost visible… when laughter is the only thing left to do in the given situation. Because it gets to that point, when all you can do is give up and laugh your butt off. I’ve been there many a time. I almost seems inappropriate to be laughing, but it’s honestly laugh or die sometimes. I’ve been there in the grieving process post-relinquishment and, I’m guessing, I’ll be there again at some point.

I’ll be saving this card for some crazy/awful situation that someone I love will be going through in the future. Or, if I had a crystal ball and a time machine, I’d send it to my future self on a day that I would need to laugh or die. I have neither, so I’ll just have to be paying attention to when my friends need a good laugh.

All the same, it was good to laugh with my friend — because what else can you do?

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