Showing Up

by Marinka on May 8, 2012

I’ve been so lucky since I started blogging.

I made friends, real friends, the friends that I reach out to when things are hard, the friends that are there to laugh with (and sometimes at) but also who I have cried with and talked about those things that we don’t always want to talk about.

But I’ve also made friends that I tweet with and see at conferences and those friends are the backbone of the community for me, and also its soul. (It’s entirely possible that I wasn’t a biology major.)

I remembered this, once again, when I mentioned to some of my friends that I would be reading at Mom 2.0, at 10:20 p.m., and they showed up. They interrupted their Miami resort dinners and drinks and laughing with friends and came to hear me read, to support me, because they knew that I needed to look out into the audience and imagine them in their underwear.

And I am so, so grateful for that. Not just because they were there for me, but because it reminded me, once again, how important it is to show up, because it makes the person that you showed up for feel amazing and important and that she matters.

Thank you Holly, Ellen, Ilana, Loukia, and Lynn. I promise to show up for you in my underwear.

One year ago ...

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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }

Lynn MacDonald (All Fooked Up)
Twitter:
May 8, 2012 at 7:45 am

wow…thanks for including me. You did a really excellent job at the reading and i enjoyed reading it again yesterday. You’re a really special person but don’t tell anyone I admitted that.

I’m so glad we got to meet again!!!

Reply

Alexandra May 8, 2012 at 7:46 am

People show up because of how you are, Marinka.

I have been touched by your kindness in too many ways to list here.

The most recent, is when you got up from your table at dinner to walk a long walk across a banquet hall to say hello to my 10 yr old son.

How many people would have done that? Not many.

Thank YOU for showing up.

Reply

Amanda May 8, 2012 at 7:50 am

Such a gorgeous acknowledgement, the kind that often goes unsaid.

Reply

By Word of Mouth Musings
Twitter:
May 8, 2012 at 7:52 am

and i know for sure you would have protected me from the cab driver.
Right?
especially since i couldn’t wear underwear with that dress 😉

Reply

Loukia May 8, 2012 at 12:16 pm

I adore you and would not have missed you read! And, you did an amazing job, but that was expected. Loved sharing a room with you. See you in August, in NYC… xoxo

Reply

tracy@sellabitmum
Twitter:
May 8, 2012 at 12:26 pm

That says so much about this amazing blogging community. I hope to meet you in person very soon so you can laugh at me. xoxo

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anna see May 8, 2012 at 4:04 pm

Amen!

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the mama bird diaries
Twitter:
May 8, 2012 at 9:22 pm

completely agree. Showing up is everything.

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Erin I'm Gonna Kill Him
Twitter:
May 8, 2012 at 11:10 pm

I would have thrown my Cuban rice and beans on the ground and ran to see you read.

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Holly - The Culture Mom May 10, 2012 at 10:23 pm

I am beyond honored to be mentioned here and your were TOTALLY worth interrupting my mojito. Worth every drop of liquor. I thought you KILLED it.
I’m also glad that we had time to catch up IRL – outside NYC (strange, but true that it takes getting on a plane to see each other). Hope to see you on home turf soon.

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