Right, so 16 years ago there was a young woman who decided to run away from her family, broken marriage, and life in her native homeland Australia. Off she went on the adventure she had wanted to go on for the longest time, but instead of with another it was all on her own.
After a short stint in Wiltshire, she headed to London to start her new life as a Londoner. There she was able to secure a position in a German oil and gas company and made friends with a Canadian chap who was living in the UK on a Scottish passport.
We got chatting one day and I mentioned how I always wanted to go to Canada, particularly Banff. My friend Mike said to me that he had a friend in Toronto and he would reach out to see if his friend would put me up for a few nights and show me around.
Well, the email came back that he wasn’t able to help out but he would reconsider if I ‘dished out’. I got permission to write back and pretended to take the dishing out comment as being able to cook. I won’t go into details, other than to say my sense of humour was really well engaged.
That email was the start of the most amazing friendship. You see tomorrow, the 14th of September I would have been married for 22 years to my first husband had everything not gone the way it had. You will have read or heard me on the radio show speak about how much I was stuck in my victim back in my time in the UK. It is not lost on me that the man with whom I shared so much of my misery with back 16 years ago, flew into Colorado today to ensure that we would be able to give each other our very first hug in 16 years.
You see Ian has been on my side from day one. He was the one that helped me grasp the concept of gratitude and focussing on what I had versus what I didn’t have. He was the first person in the longest time to show me unconditional love. In the last couple of years I have been able to repay the favour and thanks now to technology our friendship is much easier because of Skype etc. I introduced him to Juli as well, so this weekend Juli and I both get to enjoy the company of one our greatest companions. He is a big supporter of the Goddess Imperative and hasn’t missed one of our radio shows.
I am beyond pleased to report that friendships in real life are so much greater and amazing than over technology. Our first hug was the best. The laughing and the silliness is still the same and the one word comments that can have me sucking in air to fill my lungs because I can no longer breathe from garfsnorting are there, but in real life now.
It is now that I can say thank you publicly to Mike Dickson from the bottom of my heart for connecting me with one of the most amazing, beautiful men and souls I knows. We both wish you were here with us. Mike has also been an enduring friend and I know why he and Ian have been close friends since day dot. Both of these men have a very special place in my heart. Both of these men are part of the reason I do what I do. Both of these men are amazing role models to other men and I just happen to be lucky enough to have them both in my life.
Another example of major meaningful agreements landing in my life to help me see how amazing it is.
Grateful? There are no words.
Amanda
Goddess of the Imperative