Wednesday, October 6, 2010

What I would say.....

In September five gay teenagers took their lives......it is making headline news and it should.

Today I meant to post about my new life at work, but I can't.

This subject is taking too much frontal lobe space and I must purge.....

Suicide is a tough topic for me because we fought tooth and nail for Samantha's life.

But I get it. I do understand that sometimes you can't see past the darkness. It makes me incredibly sad that these children felt they had no where to turn.....this is what I would say to these five kids.....

We have failed you and I'm sorry.

Life can be hard. Life can be so hard you feel like your heart is ripping out of your chest.

But it's not. Despite everything you are going through, the bullying, the hateful comments.....that heart of yours keeps beating, your lungs keep taking in air even though the wind has been knocked out of you....almost as though your body is mocking your pain.

My heart is breaking but it still keeps beating.....how horrible is that? I am holding my breath but still I breathe.

It's horrible. Sadly, there will be more times when the heart is breaking but still beating.

There will still be times when you feel isolated, alone, afraid and hopeless....but that can't be the end. There are times when life is fabulous, happy and you're on cloud 9 but that can't be the end either.

And really.....how boring would it be it life were fabulous every, single day?

Life is good, life is sad, life is gain, life is loss, life is many, many things.....80 (something) years is a long, long time

And if you leave now, when it's bad, it will always be bad....it will always be full of strife, hate and pain. But if you stay, if you can fight for who you are, if you can search and find the beauty in life....you will find it and it will find you.

No matter how different you feel.

I have always, always felt different from 'the norm'. It wasn't until my daughter came along that I embraced that difference. I had a 4 year old who couldn't walk, talk or eat.....different became the norm in our life....it still is.

And life has been much smoother since I embrace that difference.

It will get better. It will.

The world is full of people who could have left but decided to stay.....decided to fight and make some sort of change.

And they did.

As I type this my 75 year old neighbor is outside dancing to Grease with her granddaughters in her bathrobe. Seriously, it's 9:15 at night in our little HOA controlled neighborhood and I can hear her through our bedroom window.....Look at me I'm Sandra Dee just came on.

Random....completely random.......but life....

The world is full of people who love you, love you, love you...embrace that, relish in that. Hold that white flag up....send out the emergency flares and scream I need help! and let them help you because they will, they will come in droves to help and insure you are not alone.

Trust me.....from one survivor to another

5 comments:

Unknown said...

I am glad you said it. Beautiful!

Elizabeth said...

This is so beautiful. I am struck, too, by those who seek to limit the freedoms and rights of gay people -- those people who say that they can't marry the person they love, can't serve in the military for their country -- and then they act shocked that bullies do what they do? That young people kill themselves?

Anonymous said...

I have gay people in my family and gay friends. They are kind, lovable people. They are people who do their own part to live good lives and make a positive contribution to the world. I just can't understand why so much hatred is leveled at them; it makes no sense. I agree with Elizabeth. . .when the government is telling you that you aren't like everyone else, how can you feel accepted? Attitudes are changing. . .but oh so slowly. I hope the world will hurry and remember the power of love.
Cynde

Deana said...

Such an important message to so many young people...who are dealing with all kinds of issues.

Debby said...

My exact thoughts in your words! Well done!

Trauma should be the hall pass to life's other issues. Someone should tell the hall monitor

I posted something cryptic on Facebook Saturday. It caught a lot of attention from my tribe but it really wasn’t a big deal…. nothing ...