#105: The Best Gifts. Ever. (Friday, December 26)

Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, screaming "Shit, what a ride!!" -Unknown

We've come to the last post of 2008 which is also the final post with our 2008 theme, "Enjoy Life." As we go into our third year of Good Friday, and considering that this is the season of gift-giving, I thought it would be appropriate to mention some of the best gifts I got this year.

Life: I know, it sounds cheesy and cliche, but it's really one of the best gifts we've been given, and the best gift we can give in return is to really enjoy it. Many of us, myself included, lost loved ones this year--as a matter of fact, I almost lost another friend Christmas morning who was in a terrible accident, but managed to walk away unscathed. Life is unpredictable, but what's better than a gift that is dynamic and unexpected.

Friendship: I know a lot of people, but I have few friends--people that truly know me, understand me and accept me with all my flaws. It's a gift to find those people with whom you connect and have relationships that transcend distance and time. How many people have friends who would fly thousands of miles, in a snowstorm, to surprise them for a birthday? I'm happy to say I do. I always say that I have enough friends, but I met really amazing people this year, and I know some of them will be lifelong friends, so that is yet another unexpected gift.

Growth: This was an amazing year of growth for me. I finally closed the door on an emotionally destructive relationship; I realized that sometimes it's ok to not be in control and to always be the responsible, practical, reasonable one; I realized that sometimes blood is not thicker than water, and sometimes the strongest bonds are formed in the most unlikely places; and I'm learning to be more vocal about my feelings. I know quite a few people who are stagnant, and who have bad habits that they aren't even trying to break, so to get the opportunity to learn and develop is yet another amazing gift.

I hope the gifts you got this year were as awesome as mine! Have a safe and happy new year!

#104: The Best & Worst of 2008 (Friday, December 19)

My closest friends and I have an annual tradition, which I've shared with my Good Friday readers for the past couple of years.

Every year, toward the end of the year, we all go around and say what our best and worst of the year was. People usually remember the terrible things that happened to them, so it's an opportunity to balance out the memories.

Besides just posting this Good Friday blog, I also have an email distribution list of 87 of my closest friends, who get a personal email from me each week. My goal is to reach out to every single person on my distribution list and find out their best and worst. Should be a piece a cake. LOL.

Take a few minutes to think about your best and worst moments of 2008...hopefully your bests will outweigh your worsts.

#103: Make A Difference (Friday, December 12)

"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." - Maya Angelou

This week I got two lovely surprises, one of which I count among my proudest moments of the year.

The first was an unexpected award "Make A Difference" award, which I received from the African Heritage Network at my company. When I sat down at the meeting (which was attended by many of the top Black executives at my company) and saw my name in the program, it completely took me by surprise! For one, I'd proofed and edited the program and the list of awardees (from which my name was slyly omitted for the purposes of my proofing). Secondly, I'd only been helping out because it was something I ENJOYED, not because of a sense of obligation. I really liked helping...it was fulfilling.

The second was a sentence in a speech and is one of my greatest accomplishments this year. I mentor with StreetWise Partners, a job-readiness program that teaches adults from underserved, low-income communities the skills they need to be successful in Corporate America. I mentor a young woman in the Young Adult program. One of the things that struck me when I first started mentoring was the lack of minority mentors (most of the mentees were either Black or Hispanic), so although things got hectic at work and there were days when I had to go to the program until 9 then head back to work, I decided that no matter what, I wouldn't quit. Last week was the final week before graduation, and each of the mentees had to deliver a presentation about their future plans. One of the mentees (who I personally think will be famous one day because he is SO driven) gave his presentation and made a joke, which could have been offensive to a certain group (none of whom were in the room).

After the presentations, I pulled him aside just to tell him to be careful of those jokes in the future (and to tell him not to wear an earring with his business suit). LOL. He listened, but I didn't feel like what I'd said resonated with him, until this week at the graduation ceremony. He gave his speech, and at the end gave me a special acknowledgement. "I'd just like to thank you for last week. You gave me some advice that will stay with me the rest of my life. Thank you for pulling me aside and sharing that with me." I was blown away. To be told that you have made an impact on someone that will stay with them for life is really an overwhelming thing.

I'm glad I made a difference, and he has unknowingly made a difference in my life as well. I will never forget how that one sentence made me feel.

#102: Enjoying Life...In Spite of It All (Friday, December 5)

This week was a challenging one; a few colleagues (including one whom I'd worked directly with and who was the first person to take me to lunch and talk about the business with me) got laid off. Add to that some family troubles, my last office plant finally giving up and coming down with a sinus infection and it's just a recipe for a bad week.

But in spite of it all, I'm still determined to be cheerful and happy, so I thought of a way I could get some enjoyment out of this week and cheer up some other people who I know are also having a difficult time this week. And that's when I came up with the Museum Crawl, a day of museum (and other) activities to lighten the mood and uplift the spirit...at least that's what museums do for me. :)

If you're in New York, you're invited. If you're not...organize your own. Or, think of some other activity that doesn't cost a lot but can uplift the spirit of those around you.

Enjoy life...in spite of it all!