My Stage

"All the world's a stage!"

My friend Keith called me today. I call him "Solly" because he is (like) my twin in male form. He is one of my rare "new" friends. We met five or seven years ago, fell madly in friend love, and the rest is history.

I say "new" friend because as you may have learned from me or my posts, I have had the best and closest friends a gal could ever want, wish or pray for the last 29 years -- since Jr. & Sr. High school. I also have another group of very close friends that I have been close with for more than 15 years! And I barely have enough time to dedicate to loving (all of) them enough (my friend Ross is saying some sort of expletive right now in agreement to this statement about me), so I certainly do not want to do a disservice to anyone else I call "friend". It is for that reason, honestly, that it is a rarity that I allow myself to get close to "new" friends. I truly honor my friendships and their hearts and miss them when I am not with them.

While there are all sorts of ways to define friendship in each person's life, for me, it is being able to spend quality time together, sharing our hearts, learning about and from each other, connecting your batteries again with theirs (right where you left off) and knowing that they will always tell you if you look fat in that swimming suit! OK, so maybe that last part is reserved for my "oldest" friends, but at least I was confident that I didn't look like a peach colored elephant in my prom dress thanks to them! :o)

Now that is not to say that I don't fall in love with others -- oh, I do and in fact, I can honestly tell you that I have said "I would SO want to love her/him if I had more room/time for the honor of more friends"! But I fell for Solly, hard, in Jamaica, on our vacation with Pedro and Karen and all of "their" friends that stayed in the beach house with us. And it wasn't just the festive beverages talking! In fact, I fell in love with Randy and Bill as well. But Solly, well, it was weird. It was like I had seen myself in mirror -- only the mirror was funnier, skinnier, and more flamboyant! I thought that I took up a lot of room on the life-stage until I met Keith/Solly. You know how they say on "American Idol" - "use the stage more"...HA! That would never be said about Keith!

So...I was telling Solly about the little funk I've been in (not in a victim way, just as in reporting what's new for me - "been in a funk, I know it will pass, wish it would hurry up and go" kind of way). And my friend said to me, that he understands how I can be in this funk since the stage in my life is not big enough for me right now. THAT'S IT! How could I not see this myself?! And YES Lisa and Kelly, I know that is also (in a different way) the same thing you said, but Solly said it like that and it clicked! Now I understand why the cats have gotten so attached to me the last six months as they have been my most consistent audience! Oh. Sorry. Inside voice. My Bad.

Well that just helps. The stage is not big enough for me at this place in my life. So True! The fact is, I truly "earn my Oscar" every day when I would go to work. Not in an in-authentic kind of way, but in a "I'm in here to provide outrageous service" kind of way. To WOW you/the customer. To have you be grateful for having done business with me today as I was grateful for being given the gift of your trust and expectations. And because I want to be treated that way when I do business with anybody. I want to be grateful for having chosen ABC Company.

I TRULY am amazing with customers. Now, I know there is no humbleness there, but honestly, I'm not sorry about that. I'm aware, but not regretful about saying it in such a manner. I know I have to know my audience in order to speak so frankly. I also must know it to be true. Fully true. And it is. And I have a platform (stage) and believe that when that phone rings, when the meeting starts, when the email comes in, that it is my time to shine - Open the curtains please, I'm about to go on! I'm about to show this customer that they made the right decision choosing us and I'm about to get to work to live up to their (and the company's) expectations. Just writing it gets me jazzed!

I'm sure it's true that all the world's a stage, mine is not big enough these last few months. It's time for me to find a new Director and Producer and for the next production to start!