Breath of Fresh Air

“A breath of fresh air is a great thing to take and an even better thing to be.” ~ Anonymous

One of my favorite things to do is to inhale the brisk morning air. It has the most wonderful scent! Oh, and the scent after the rain, or even just before! There’s no beating the scent of the salty oceanside… Okay, so I love the great outdoors, and it smells nice – usually… When the air is fresh, to be clear…

To me, some people are like a breath of fresh air. Just speaking with them or being in their presence for a moment or two, leaves me refreshed, renewed – Did I just inhale the crisp morning air in the middle of the day. But then, although I inhaled the crisp morning air, there are those times I am left a tad breathless. Still, I have to wonder, how does one become a breath of fresh air? Is this a trait that I too can come to possess – is this a trait that I already possess?

I would say that many of my friends are like a breath of fresh air for me. I don’t know how friendships are formed, really. As I look over my friendships, I have to wonder, how did we become friends? (Not in a bad way!) Some of my relationships are the unlikeliest friendships – with truly nothing in common, the best friends a gal could ever have. But how were these relationships formed? Some friendships are forged out of adversity, some out of some common ground, some out of one persons persistence… Isn’t there always a pursuer and the one whom is being pursued in any type of relationship? However, in my truest friendships, I haven’t quite figured out which role I play – aren’t they shared equally? Is this what makes these friendships so great?

I don’t typically make a big deal out of my birthday… It isn’t public on my social media pages, so only good friends and family remember my special day. I even took it an extra mile this year, a month before my birthday, I disabled commenting and tagging on my timeline… No public announcements for all of Facebook to see, please! I am not totally sure why I did this, I am not ashamed to have turned 32, and I love to celebrate birthdays, just not my own… I used to live to celebrate my birthday! What happened? Never mind, I know… 

But, do you know what? I had family and friends that remembered me! I received private messages and telephone calls, wishing me Birthday Blessings! I received wonderful presents, cards, and hugs – a birthday dinner with my favorite gal-pals. My children’s stepmom came over with balloons, presents and cards… This birthday was the best one yet! Where I was expecting nothing, I received so much love! Where I tried to hide and isolate, my family and friends found me and drew me out!

I had only to wonder, looking at the ladies at the dinner, what brought us together? The divorce. In my lowest of lows they were there for me so many years ago, and continue to be here for me, loving me. We cry together, we celebrate together, what don’t we do together? As new friendships are formed, I find a wonderful friend in my children’s stepmom, most don’t believe it, or see how it can possibly be, but she is truly a wonderful friend. Her heart is pure and she demonstrates love in all that she does. I hope I show how much I appreciate and love her too. What brought us together? Haha! Well…

All of these friendships, along with close family members are my very own breaths of fresh air in their individual ways. I gain something different from each person. My hope is that I give back something as great as what they give me! Let me be a Breath of Fresh Air!

*Photo credit: LP