Pieces of me as seen by my friends....
"You guided me through the most wonderful period of growth I could have envisioned: my Apprenticeship. I look back on that as the happiest; most cheerful; deeply artistic; thought provoking; funniest; road trippy-iest; holed up in the corner in the Alexandrian Library - West Branch with a stack of books-iest period *ever.* I hear Apprentice stories of fear and woe and I want to throw them all in the Tardis and take them back with me. I spent years telling them "If you could just meet my Laurel! If you could have just seen what my time was like!" Apprentice or not, every human being should know that kind of loving support through self discovery. When I became a Laurel, the primary goal in my mind was to fill the gap when you left.....to be the same beacon of love that you were as a Peer. Then.....Nic showed up and I had to leave SCA life for a bit. What I had no way of knowing, and that only retrospective can tell me now, is that *you* prepared me to be the best Beacon of Love for a little boy who was in critical need of the same guidance you gave me. All parent(s) are charged with guiding souls through the world. I was given the rare privilege of reaching into an abyss and pulling out....just....something indescribable. If you had not breathed on the embers of my tattered self confidence....not developed an iron core within me...not booted me into *living*....I'm not so sure I could have weathered the storm. Sure....I would've rolled with the punches but in the middle of such adversity, my life with Nic has been the happiest; most cheerful; deeply artistic; though provoking; funniest; road trippy-iest time in *our* life. You were my first definition of a Peer. You were also my first definition of a teacher. You live every day in my classroom, and a part of you beats in Nic's heart. Eight thousand kids have now passed through my classroom doors, and I see the generations to come...with pieces of you in them. Look down the road and see all that you have touched. Tiny acts of love and faith multiplied through the years. That's you, my dear."
Replies
\"I remember learning about how we had similar childhoods and you were so kind to make my grandma\'s Swedish coffee bread, how we both LOVE to bake and have tasty treats. It was like meeting a different version of me. Hang in there, you are fantastic!\"
\"When I first tried challigraphy, I was miserable. You suggested that I try a different hand. It took me about 2 minutes to understand that you didn\'t want me to change from my right to my left!\"
\"You\'re nurturing, kind, and laugh a lot! You introduced me to Black Adder, dim sum, and loads of other stuff. Moreover, you affected me tremendously by encouraging me in charter painting. You believed in me when I just had no one. You are an awesome person!\"
\"My brain is a total messy jumble of things all clamoring to be told. There aren\'t enough words in all the languages of the world to tell all my stories of times spent with you. From that first day all those years ago when you nervously approached me to ask if I would please re-do your AoA scroll with your name spelled the right way...through all the sage wisdom I learned from *you* on my journey to the Laurel...the pure joy of artistic collaboration on Mahdi\'s KSCA...late nights of movies I would never have seen otherwise, from absurd to funny to deeply moving...laughing our heads off over Aslyn\'s \"sugared\" cookies...the secrets our stitching could tell...working on scroll texts while soaking up spoilers for PJ\'s LotR...talking late into the night about anything and everything like a couple of college students...and brownies. Lots and lots of brownies.\"
\" You are one of the jewels in my life. Your kindness, spirt, caring, humor, outlook, sensitivity, and advice has enriched my life. I am a better person for all our time, tears, and laughs together. ^..^ With much love. M\"
\"Two of the best days of my life were spent decorating ceramics in Deruta Italy. You took me on my first trip to a ceramic store and showed me what to buy to decorate my first plate. You also let me borrow books that cost hundreds of dollars -- IF you can even find them. Now I have two kilns and a potters wheel in my garage. I think my pottery book collection if finally better than yours! My website has a whole section devoted to passing the basic knowledge forward, so that anyone can have pretty feast gear. You also introduced me to Harry Potter and Colin Firth.\"
\"Hey there! I just wanted to remind you how brave you are. I was always impressed that you were willing to pick up and move to the other side of the country just for a possibility. Really, it enabled me to do the same thing myself. So, just remember you are still that same brave person, and able to move on past this and forge a new adventure. Scary? Yes. Are you capable? Absolutely. *hugs*\"