I want to take a moment to thank my friends who reach out to people.  My friend Jen is really good at this.  She says when  a friend crosses her mind, it means she needs to call him or her, and then she actually does.

Sometimes I reach out, but a lot of the time, I think, oh, I don’t want to bother her.  I am sure she’s busy.  And I’m busy with the kids (as a mom, there is always an excuse for my silence).

Lately, a woman who I didn’t know too well kept popping up in my mind.  I thought, oh, I don’t want to bother her.  I don’t want to weigh her down.  Well, to make a long story short, no one is weighing her down any longer.  I don’t think that the outcome would be different necessarily had I  reached out, but I wish I told her I cared.  Sure, the conversation could have not gone well or she may not have believed that she was as phenomenal as she really had the potential to be and in many ways already was.  Who knows? I’ll never know. I didn’t want to bother her.

Maybe sometimes we’re supposed to bother other people.  Not people who are abusive or disrespectful.  I am not advocating acting foolishly.  I am saying maybe we need to voice that kind thought to the people who’ve crossed our mind.  Take the time to bother them a little bit, in a gentle, loving way.  Because we may not get another chance for a long time.

Here’s to reaching out and forgiving ourselves when we didn’t.  Press on, mom!