Julie reads my blog aloud…a new experience for me.
Last week, on our girls’ weekend trip to Tybee Island, I heard someone else read my work aloud. This was a new and emotional experience for me. I suppose it might have been a combination of being surrounded by our friends, the salt air, and great wine, but the atmosphere was a little like a grown-up campfire story and I cried like a homesick camper.
Mommies don’t get to cry much-at least not in public, but when you are in a comfortable place and something happens to stir your creative soul, you get to cry with abandon. And I did.
The blog came about because, well…I am a writer and the weekend was memorable. I am not sure if all our friends knew that my brain is constantly recording the interactions between characters and situations for glimpses of the synergy and connectivity that makes us all human-and all friends, but they all do now. My secret is out.
Based on the reactions and the giant group hug after Julie finished reading, the event seemed more than just emotion. It was a certain kind of love that only women understand-I think.
For me, it was cathartic-sort of like ripping off the bandaid. You see, in my job, I am constantly asking others to tell their story, to witness their place on the big blue marble, but I am guilty of rarely sharing my own. I write, I send the words off in an email, and then I move on to the next assignment. Mind you, the people about whom I write leave an indelible mark on my heart and I carry them with me always, but I don’t often revisit my work. Sometimes, it is a real surprise to me to see how many stories I have told. But, until I was surrounded in the comfort of friends, I had never heard anyone read those words.
Thank you Julie, from the bottom of my heart. You have given me a gift I won’t forget. Love you girls!
FreelanceBeth 