I am hand-writing this post.  Joy gave me the idea as a way to rest my eyes from the computer before typing the final draft.  I feel so old-fashioned and can hardly believe I still know cursive.  It’s nice, and has really nothing to do with what I’m going to blog about, but just wanted to share my enjoyment in the dying art of penmanship.

As I sit here in my cozy backyard reflecting upon our first dozen posts and subsequent comments, I am surprised by some of the feedback.  The responses from fellow VIPs (thanks for the snazzy acronym, sis) has been what we had hoped it would be and more.  It’s the excitement and support from our friends and family that has surprised me a bit, which is not to say that I haven’t felt their support before.  I guess receiving it all at once feels different.  But what surprises me the most is how encouraged I feel just from knowing that my loved ones are taking time out of their busy lives to learn about RP.

Joy and I have spent so much time/energy talking to each other about RP over the years that we often haven’t realized how little our friends and family know about it.  Prior to this blog, I had been of the mindset that if someone has questions or wants to know how I’m feeling about RP, they would approach me.  And there are quite a few that have done so.  But I’ve recently learned that not everyone feels they can openly talk about it – perhaps due to something I’ve said verbally or non-verbally.  And that is disappointing to me.  I want to be approachable, I want to be an open book.  Sometimes that is easier said than done.  Sometimes I feel so “exposed” when I talk about my vision.  I feel as though I am revealing this broken piece of myself,  But just because something is painful or uncomfortable to talk about doesn’t mean that it should be avoided altogether.

My hand is starting to cramp up, so I better wrap this up.  If you have RP, you may be surprised to find that the more you share with friends and family, the more encouraged you feel.  If you have a loved one with RP, find an appropriate time and place to approach them with your questions, concerns, words of encouragement, etc.

Taking an interest in what others are thinking and doing is often a much more powerful form of encouragement than praise – Robert Martin