Sharing Grief

I saw a dear friend of mine yesterday. I had not seen her in months and had been wondering where she was. As some of you know, I work at a sand and gravel pit. I call this friend Boulder Girl because she does amazing landscape work with rocks and comes in to hand pick boulders. So... considering that it's spring and many are doing such projects, it's strange that she hasn't been in. But... she came in yesterday and I asked her where she has been. Her father passed away suddenly in April she told me. She lost a month of work and has still been feeling quite lost.

I told her that my Dad had passed away in February and we talked a little. We hugged. Then I gave her the link to this blog. I told her how I had blogged through my grief and the best advice I could give is "fake it til you make it". She said she would go home and read... and I hope she found some comfort in my struggles.

I've been reading back in my blog, hopping around, clicking on the 'you may also like' feature at the bottom of each post. There are treasures hidden here! I've been asked to submit this blog to a self-help directory where I could reach a much larger audience! What an honor! Also, many of you know that this blog will be made into a book at some point. I cover so many topics, I'm not sure exactly what the focus will be just yet, but it comes more into focus every day!

I added a link to the top right of the page for information regarding my Artist Empowerment Class and put up the pay button. I do hope that many of you will be able to join me!

TGIF

This was the carousel in Seaside. This photo will get lots of editing before it gets listed, but I do love the busy-ness of the raw image.

Yesterday, I was visited by two very good friends. Girl friends. In my world, where I'm surrounded by truck drivers all day at work, surrounded by males at home... it is a rare treat to visit with my girl friends. I am not a social person. When I am not at work, I prefer to be at home, creating. Or out taking photos. But my one friend called me and we visited for quite awhile, the other stopped in at my work. Both recharged me in ways that I didn't even know that I *needed* to be recharged!

In the constant quest for balance, I have never figured out how to work in time for friends. My best friend and I used to meet for happy hour once a week. That time became difficult at some point and we stopped. And now, I think happy hour is not the right place for us... but how do we make the time? We could have crafting time... I could go over and sew journals while she paints. Or I could take my laptop and edit photos while she paints. Nah, I wouldn't be able to concentrate on editing, but it would be nice to bounce ideas off of her. Perhaps we'll each open up our hearts and our minds again.

The other friend... we have an amazing connection and we've never made time for each other. Only once outside of work or phone have we gotten together. Our lives are vastly different, but we are kindred. Hopefully at some point we will be able to be part of each other's lives as well.

Do any of you have a hard time incorporating others into your lives? I often find that I'm such a more 'out there' and 'accessible' person online.