Dear Friends

Today I received an e-mail from my sister that made me think of all of the people in my life, how different they are, and how they all contribute in making me who I am today. Friends surprise you. It's amazing how you can have close friends who all really "know" you, but the experience of being "you" can be so different with each of them. These are the people in your life who you can go weeks without talking to and you don't have to feel guilty - you know that when you pick up the phone or get together, you will be right where you left off. These are the people who even when the road gets rocky, or you may not see eye to eye, are the ones who stand by your friendship first and then work through the rest. Each person has that little something extra; that quirk, or imperfection that makes them special. I realize at this point in my writing I am starting to sound like a parent having "a talk" with their child who is going through puberty and doesn't understand why they can't look like someone else.

Isn't that funny? I mean honestly, when I went through puberty I wanted to look like anything but me. I could have looked at a pile of crap on the lawn and said, "it's just not fair! Why can't IIIIIII look like that pile of dump on the lawn? At least everyone notices that!" But to get back to my point, I have started to think a lot about what some of the close people in my life are to me and why they are in my life. I have found that I can associate a word or phrase that describes what they add to my life.

Insight
Humor
Comfort
My Mirror
Truth
My Escape from Reality
My Blood
Reality
Competitiveness
Empathy
Thought
Challenges

And the list goes on and on. Sometimes what someone adds to your life isn't always good BUT - they were in your life to teach you a lesson or discover a part of you that you hadn't quite come to know. I have often been asked, "Jackie, why do you go out of your way to stay in touch with so many people?" The answer is, "because they all add something to my life and I love them, ok? So shut it!" Relationships and experiences have always been far more important to me than "things". That's worth working for.

Here is what my sister sent to me."An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full..

For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do ha lf of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. 'I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.'

The old woman smiled, 'Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?' 'That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.' For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.'

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them. SO, to all of my cracked pot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!"

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