Friday, August 31, 2007

Silly Friends

I received two email messages this morning that really ruffled my feathers.

One was from my cousin/friend, who told me how gross her skin was, how fat her butt was, how ugly her clothes were, and something else that I can't remember about how gross she was. Basically, she has described herself as ugly, fat, and poorly dressed.

The other message was from another BFF, who told me how HORRIBLE a person she is because she forgot about a meeting for work and the dinner she was supposed to make for a family from church. She went on for several lines telling me how horrible and unthoughtful she is.

Hmm. One claims to just be having a bad day, and the other is just stressed out with a workload too big for her shoulders to carry. It's okay to have a bad day, and I'm glad they don't keep it all bottled up inside. I certainly have those days where I hate everything about myself and can't seem to find any redeeming qualities about Miss Viola. On these sort of days, there is nothing worse than feeling alone. There is nothing better than having a friend pick you back up. I'm glad they came to me, so I can try to make them see just how utterly fabulous they both are.

You don't know who I'm talking about, but let me tell you, my "ugly and fat" cousin/friend is anything but ugly and fat. In fact, my husband always says about her, "she is so pretty. She gets prettier all the time." It's true. She has curly hair that I would die for. She looks pretty naturally, without tons of makeup. Some of us have to cover up our flaws, and despite what she thinks, to the rest of us, it doesn't look like she has anything to cover up. As for being fat, well, I remember at church one time, I saw her walk in with her husband. I was sitting with my grandma who leaned over and said, "Look at her. She's so little and petite. She's so cute." It's true, and it makes me sad that she doesn't see it.

As for my "horrible" friend, well, that's almost funny. Of all the people I have ever met in my life, she is the most thoughtful, selfless, kindest person I've ever known. She always does more things for other people than she does for herself. She's often tired because she gives so much of herself, whether it be cooking meals, sending surprise gifts in the mail, adding people to her mile long prayer list, never forgetting birthday gifts or special times in the lives of her friends and family, or planning surprise bday parties for her husband. Trust me, she makes the rest of us look bad, and she thinks she is horrible! So, so untrue. She's kind and genuine and sweet all the time, and she makes me a better person just because she's my friend.

I once had a boss who wasn't complimentary often, but when she did, she was honest and did it with style. I'm not sure if my post today has any style or special flair, but I wanted to take the opportunity to praise my two friends who are just having a bad day, moment, whatever you want to call it. As my former boss said, "we don't often take time out to praise someone. This is it."

As an adult, I feel so lucky to have the friends I have, and not just these two. Like Jennifer Aniston said in an interview shortly after her divorce went through, "I couldn't have done it without my girls. They're everything to me." I feel blessed to have all my peeps, and I'm so lucky to have so many. I remember once, my sister told me when I was in my early twenties that it wasn't high school anymore, that I could choose the people I wanted in my life. My friends didn't have to be my friends simply because we went to school together or because there was a lack of options. As I get older, I've found that this is true, and I'm so proud of the friends I have. They (you, if you're reading) are all super. Each adds something special to my life in a different way, and I'm so thankful for them all. Something of them are family. Some are old friends dating back to my childhood. Some are new friends I met as an adult. Either way, I feel lucky they all walked into my life, and I'm happy that we chose each other.

Like I said, we all have bad days where we can't stand ourselves or beat ourselves up for something we've done. I just wanted to boost up my two peeps, as they've done for me countless times. We should all do that more often. Right?

And now, I'm proud to say (yes, we're on a different subject now) that Miss Viola has written 40,000 words of her new project! Yeehaw! And my "horrible" friend has seen a small piece and sent me the most complimentary email today where she praised me and compared me to the likes of Shakespeare. Not really, but she did send some super thoughts about the piece my way, and I'm so thankful. It inspired me to keep going. I just wish I could write all day!

Something else ...I squeezed my butt into an old pair of capris today, and I'm happy to report that if you do lunges down your hallway, sit "criss cross applesauce" while working on the computer, and tuck your left leg under your butt while driving, you can actually make a pair of pants that are much too small for your butt fit over your body! Does it look attractive? Hell, no! But they're on! That has to count for something.

Oh, and another super friend of mine had a baby yesterday. Miss Avery Kate joined the world at 6 pounds 13 ounces and 20 inches. I can't wait to see her. I'm sure she is beautiful like her mother.

Next week, I'll be back to talking about my precious Edward. Yes, only 10 days until I join the other freaks in my "Bite Me" t-shirt! I'm an official Edward Cullen Fan Club Member! It's going to be super fun, and I can't wait to go with my awesome (not ugly and fat) cousin. We're going to have a blast. Also, next week, I'll probably continue praising my friends. It feels nice spreading the love around. Keep reading to see if you're mentioned. You're all too wonderful for me to keep quiet.

Book I just finished: Crank by Ellen Hopkins
Book I'm still reading: The Book Thief
Number of episodes of "Lost" I will watch with my niece tonight: SEVEN!
Miles to Run: um ... next week, maybe?

2 comments:

Bellatrix said...

So proud to hear you have been writing again. Go V Go!

Do tell.. I get the benefits of lunging but the criss cross applesauce and the sitting on your leg have me baffled.

Please share - I'm always looking for a way to perk up the backside without too much effort. Of course that assumes I have a backside which is questionable.

Miss Viola Bookworm said...

Ha. "Criss cross applesauce" is the politically correct/cute way for a preschool teacher to say "sit indian style." I wish it were an exercise, seeing as I sit that way all the time. I could say I work out like 10 times a day!

And sometimes while driving, specifically when I need to stretch a pair of pants, I tuck my left leg under my butt. Not difficult, and again, not a workout, which is too bad.

As for perking up your backside, I saw an ad in "Hairstyle" magazine for the butt stuffer thing. You know, it's like a fake puffy butt you wear in your pants. I'm not advocating you do such a thing, but it would require little effort and voila! You have a round butt like Miss Viola!

And thanks for the writing encouragement. This is quite fun and much, much, much better than my earlier efforts. It feels strange, thinking on my other stuff, seeing and knowing how far I have come. I guess that happens when you write and revise for two years. Anyway, I'm not giving up on the other story which I think turned out quite good in the end, after about 7 drafts (I think you saw about the fourth one). But, this one, is so much better. I'm very excited and am loving it very much. I love my heroine, and I never thought this could be possible, but I might just have created someone who is hotter and more desirable than my precious Ian Stratford! Oh, and yes, there are some steamy scenes! Tasteful, but steamy. I know you love those. Thanks for the encouragement!