To Know Me Is To. . .

I’m the kind of person who grows off people.  Most folks initially respond to me with wild enthusiasm but when they get to know me, they sour.  I accept this.  Though I’ve tempered with age and deliberate pursuit of a milder deportment, still, my personality comes over as aggressive and unpleasant, which I’ve been told so often as to be convinced.

This brings me to my friend Kevin.

We don’t have much in common.  Kevin is 49, happily married, no children, one sibling, and a long-time Sprint employee.  I’m 61, thrice divorced, one child, seven siblings, and chronically self-employed.   We know each other through our common dedication to Service Above Self as Waldo-Brookside Rotarians but otherwise couldn’t be more different.

Despite this, Kevin listens to me.  I’ve cried on his shoulder, asked about his wife, shared confidences, and taken away a conviction of his essential kindness.  He checks with me every week and in between, and, along with his wife, totes me to late-evening outings so I don’t have to rely on my aging vision.  During my recent journey N by NE, he kept track of my progress by text and Social Media.  When I posted a picture of a MoDOT vehicle unlawfully parked in a handicapped spot, he saw the image and tweeted to MoDOT to take them to task.

Kevin K. quietly rocks the life of a good man.

All the more overwhelming, then, that Kevin seems to know me and like me.  He and his wife both reach out to me to make sure that I’m okay. He’s offered to come change light bulbs, shovel snow, and rake leaves.  When winter blows and rain falls, Kevin messages to make sure that I’m getting around without difficulty.

I can count on one hand the number of people who continue to like me regardless of their exposure to my baser self.  Although Kevin has never lived with me or endured my most evil essence in my starkest hours, he knows a lot about me and still calls me “friend”.  So despite the dearth of compatriots sitting round the campfire with me on dark and dangerous nights, I will not complain.  I have a small but solid cadre of truly wonderful people in my life, and Kevin K. stands tall among them.

It’s the fourth day of the thirty-seventh month of My Year Without Complaining.  Life continues.

 

gratitude

7 thoughts on “To Know Me Is To. . .

  1. A

    You know me a bit. I am a nurse…. only because I knew nothing other then to care for others. If you ever need a lending hand…. I , or one of my closest friends that would do anything for I, or someone I care about will be there. Anything from home repair, to yard work and beyond… please let me know if you have a need. I truly do have the best network of friends and they will give you the respect that I let them know that you deserve! Please let me know if you need anything… I will do my best to make it happen. Inbox me.

    Reply
  2. Linda Overton

    Please count me among the people who like you. I may not be able to help you much but I can pray that all will go well with you.

    Reply
  3. Genevieve

    I like you a lot – but I don’t think I’ve seen your baser self yet. If I have, I didn’t recognize it as such. I still intend for us to get together soon, but I am very bad at reaching out to people no matter how much I like them. (introversion – I love people but I never feel like I have enough to offer to reach out to them.)

    This week I am engaged in a Winter housecleaning /dog proofing project because next week we are adopting a dog! But let’s make a point of getting together before January gets away from us.

    Reply

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