The only shingles outside Pancake Cottage rested on its roof. But one touting "Free, amateur therapy" near the entrance would have been an appropriate addition.
I think back with embarrassment to the times I unloaded on you about the challenges I faced at home. Yet I remember that although it must have been a drag to hear it, you never made me feel uneasy about needing to talk. You were a great listener at a time when I already felt "weird" and different from my peers, and I never got the feeling that you thought less of me or that I was simply too much work to have as a friend.
Such acceptance played an essential part in my ability to eventually work my way through very traumatic events without the added stress of major social anxiety. Looking back I see how many different directions I could have taken; I'm grateful for every person who contributed to my emotional well-being :)
You may take your own kindness for granted. After all, we're supposed to be kind, right? Right, but not everyone is. And you need to know that you made a difference in my life in those hours we "cut" for coffee and pancakes. I was grateful then, but it would be many years before I could fully understand the effects of your "simple" kindness. And when I find myself in a position to listen to another your spirit surfaces and I clear a space in my heart for that person's plight.
Twenty five years later, I thank you from the bottom of that heart.
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