I have 28 more minutes to post today's theme: PBear Mail Day...
I did not post last week because of a series of events leading me to receive my PBear mail on Sunday, rather than Wednesday (see a previous blog post about this..) Today, Wednesday, August 10, 2011, my mail came on time, I received said mail on time, and all is again right with the world! Excuse the excessive use of commas.
So who is this PBear and what is the deal with PBear Mail Days?
PBear is Mike Wing Lewis, affectionately referred to by myself as PBear... which is Father Bear shortened to Papa Bear, shortened to Bear... his friends call him Bear. I called him Bear until he lovingly accepted me into his clan and named me his daughter bear last May. He did this through an unforgettable ceremony of the passing down of the warrior's necklace, which has a novel's worth of stories to tell on its own, I am sure. Long story short, this necklace has gone through generations of warriors in my PBear's native family, and I am honored to be the first non-blood, and female, "relative" to receive this priceless gift. This gift goes much deeper than the necklace, the gift goes to the heart of what this necklace means... strength, Spirit, guidance, wisdom, Love, connectedness... I could go on and on here...
I can share much more of PBear later, but I will start with our letters. When I moved to Tampa last summer, I was terribly frightened. I was homesick. I was absolutely unsure of what I was doing and how I ended up making this decision to move. PBear had to know this, and he took it upon himself to begin sending me letters. Hand written letters. Delivered via "snail mail." These are my love letters from Bear. My belief in pure, absolute, altruistic, love. My little glimpse of wisdom that can only be earned from decades of a difficult life, and triumphs through unbelievable struggles, which PBear has overcome... not only has he earned such wisdom... wisdom of a warrior... but he is willing to pass it on to an unsure, hesitant, questioning pupil like myself.
Each week, he sits down on a Sunday morning, writes his letter to me, and I receive them on Wednesdays (most always); I then write him Wednesday night (or Thursday morning if I am slacking) and he receives my letters on Saturdays (most always.) It has been over a year and this has been the one constant in this completely changing universe which is life as a graduate student. This is the constant that reminds me to slow down, to enjoy the "real" things in life, to appreciate that which cannot be bought or sold, to take time to contemplate the life lessons, and to reciprocate a love which I wasn't even sure I could live up to. This week's letter was actually about this... what the writing has done for us. What this dance of love and flow of letters has given us... how deeply impacted each of us are by this ongoing commitment to ourselves and to one another. And how he is intrigued by my commitment to myself in joining the blogosphere :)
So there we have it friends. This is my first PBear post, with many more to come. I have all of his letters in a special place and hope to one day compile them together in a novel. One day... Until that day, I hope my friends will continue to join me in Carla's Corner.
And as always, don't forget to FLY <3
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Spotlight Tuesday... A day late..
Tuesday’s blog theme is “spotlight” day, and since I didn’t get around to it yesterday, I am posting it today… My spotlight day will be a weekly post dedicated to a person I choose… one whom I admire, look up to, appreciate, or just feel like posting about.
Naturally, my first spotlight post must be my mother. My mother and I are best friends. This is an amazing thing, especially considering we would never have seen this in our future a few years ago. Truthfully, if you asked me 10-15 years ago if my mother would be my best friend, I would say no way. If you asked her, she probably would have said her daughter might not be alive in 10-15 years. I was rebellious, horrendous, and “wild child” would not do me justice. Yet, my mother stuck by me. She always has.
My mom has a knack for giving people the benefit of the doubt and can be loyal to a fault. She stayed with my father for years past what I would have, simply to keep our family together. She stayed present for my brother and me, when I would have run away. She worked two jobs our whole lives to help us have the best life can offer, whether that be education, food, clothes, shelter, cars, extra curricular activities, summer camps, whatever… she provided. To this day, she sends me care packages, unexpected notes, coupons, and the like. Every time she visits Tampa, she cooks and cooks some more.
Regardless of all of the material goods, my mother gives love unconditionally, compassion, and a listening ear. I can call her day or night and she is there to listen. She does not judge, she simply listens and shares her experience. One of the best things about my mother is she is not only a mother to her biological children, she is an adopted mother to almost every one of our friends. Holiday meals, birthday dinners, just a nice place to spend time, with good company and love, my mother does it all.
She also gives back to the community, adopts other families, is a member to more organizations than I could possibly list, and is simply one of the most selfless people I know. She does all of this and still works one full time job for the state, one part time job at an urgent care clinic, takes care of her home, cooks for her husband, AND takes care of my Grandmother who has Alzheimer’s. I honestly do not know anyone else who could handle so much life stress and continue giving service with a smile. Belinda McClellan, you are truly superwoman, and I am honored to be your daughter and best friend. Love you.. Past the Sky J
Naturally, my first spotlight post must be my mother. My mother and I are best friends. This is an amazing thing, especially considering we would never have seen this in our future a few years ago. Truthfully, if you asked me 10-15 years ago if my mother would be my best friend, I would say no way. If you asked her, she probably would have said her daughter might not be alive in 10-15 years. I was rebellious, horrendous, and “wild child” would not do me justice. Yet, my mother stuck by me. She always has.
My mom has a knack for giving people the benefit of the doubt and can be loyal to a fault. She stayed with my father for years past what I would have, simply to keep our family together. She stayed present for my brother and me, when I would have run away. She worked two jobs our whole lives to help us have the best life can offer, whether that be education, food, clothes, shelter, cars, extra curricular activities, summer camps, whatever… she provided. To this day, she sends me care packages, unexpected notes, coupons, and the like. Every time she visits Tampa, she cooks and cooks some more.
Regardless of all of the material goods, my mother gives love unconditionally, compassion, and a listening ear. I can call her day or night and she is there to listen. She does not judge, she simply listens and shares her experience. One of the best things about my mother is she is not only a mother to her biological children, she is an adopted mother to almost every one of our friends. Holiday meals, birthday dinners, just a nice place to spend time, with good company and love, my mother does it all.
She also gives back to the community, adopts other families, is a member to more organizations than I could possibly list, and is simply one of the most selfless people I know. She does all of this and still works one full time job for the state, one part time job at an urgent care clinic, takes care of her home, cooks for her husband, AND takes care of my Grandmother who has Alzheimer’s. I honestly do not know anyone else who could handle so much life stress and continue giving service with a smile. Belinda McClellan, you are truly superwoman, and I am honored to be your daughter and best friend. Love you.. Past the Sky J
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