Letter #39 - Bob

I have had many blessings in my life.  One of these blessings has included nearly endless opportunities to meet new people.  This can include celebrities, CEOs for Fortune 50 companies, and normal every day people like Bob.  When I met Bob he was working at the Royal Park Hotel, where my boss at the time and I basically lived for 2 years while we completed a leadership seminar we were conducting.

I used to love it when Bob was on staff for our dinners, and would spend time chatting with him while the rest of the group mingled or talked business.  Bob would also let me sneak as many maraschino cherries as I wanted from his stash behind the bar, and always gave me extras in my drinks.

Awhile ago, I received news from one of Bob's colleagues that he had retired, and that he was battling cancer.  She sent me a link to the blog his family was using to keep loved ones posted on his condition, and I have diligently followed his highs and lows as he and his family struggle through this incredibly difficult time.  At the end of last year, I succeeded in getting a snail mail address for Bob, so this week I'm finally getting around to sending him a letter.  I tried to balance my message between just catching up and still acknowledging the struggle he's going through.  I continue to hold him in my heart in the hopes that his health will improve, his spirits (from all of the postings) appear to be strong most days, so I hope his body can keep up with that spirit.

Letter #35 - Bob

One of my many hats is photographer.  I discovered my love for photography sometime in high school, and, wanting to encourage my love, my dad made me a deal.  If I could keep my room clean for an entire month (by his standards), I could have his canon rebel to call my very own.  It is the only month in the history of my life that my room was spotless.

As I continued to develop my skill, I was fortunate enough to meet Bob.  Bob became one of my photo-mentors.  I was introduced to him through his brother-in-law (another one of my photo-mentors) at one of our church's World Conferences.  Bob and Jim were both staff photographers, and allowed me to tag along with them the whole week, learning, shooting, stealing their gear (with their permission...) and feeding my addiction... :o)

Several years ago, my work took me on a short trip to Denver (where Bob lives).  I had planned to stay an extra day to hang out with two of my colleagues who were going to be there from Mexico.  When I arrived, I discovered that my colleagues had neglected to inform me they were no longer able to extend their trips, and so I was stuck in Denver for a day all by myself.  It turned out to be a really really cool experience.  I hadn't had many opportunities to ever really travel solo before... for a change, I got to plan my whole day doing everything that *I* wanted to do, without having to worry about everyone else's interests.  It was really neat.  Somewhere in my planning process, it dawned on me that Bob lived in the city with his wife.  I got a hold of him, and he offered to meet up with me when he got off work, and take me up into the mountains to possibly get some good nature shots. It ended up being a really lovely evening, but I missed out on some photos as my batteries were pretty much dead by the time we connected.

I never write to Bob.  He and his wife get our Christmas card each December, but beyond that, I send the occasional email or we connect in person every few years at church events.  It was neat to be sitting down to intentionally send him a note.  I didn't write a whole lot, but it felt good to be connected to him in my heart in that moment.  I look forward to continuing to run into him over the years to come, and continuing to compare our photography and admire each others' work.

Letter #2 - Bob

I'm writing this pre-letter as I reflect on my evening an listen to "Broke Down" by Slaid Cleaves.  I would have written the letter first, but it's much easier to do that nestled in bed than to haul my laptop in there (crap battery life), so I decided to post first.  I already know what the experience will be like, and "Broke Down" is actually a pretty accurate reflection of that.  I will be writing to my friend Bob.  Bob is a musician friend I was blessed to meet through my husband's network.  While Bob is older than me, he is not so much older that he should have 'expected' to lose his wife earlier this year... which he did in a devastatingly sudden way.  Austin & I attended the memorial service and never have I experienced anything quite like it.  The community was rocked by his wife's death and showed up in mass to mourn her loss along with him and their children.  I've always felt close to Bob, even though we may not be the kind of friends who hang out together, or chat on the phone... he's just one of those people I've developed a strong attachment to, and I have tried very hard to be a support to him during the past several months as he processes the various stages of trying to make sense of what has become his life.

When I write to Bob, I often experience a deep feeling of compassion and love, and I try to ooze big hugs into each word.  Writing him also puts me in a reflective frame of mind as I think about people in my life who I've lost, and people I love who are still with me.  It puts me in a state of sympathy for his loss and grief, and one of gratitude that I still have my love and best friend with me.

I hope my card will bring a smile to his face, or at least let him understand that while we may not be "presence close" friends, I still keep him very close in my heart and think of him often.