farewell oprah...

I can't remember the first time I watched Oprah Winfrey's tv show. During high school I was a huge fan. I can't imagine I had the chance to watch it much since I played sports after school, but I know I watched it as much as I could. And for awhile... I e-mailed her show every day in an attempt to get one of my favorite teachers on the show.

Mrs. Nedra Spry was one of my favorite teachers of all-time. I took psychology with her first period during the fall semester of my senior year and I loved it. She was funny, kind and an amazing teacher. I learned a lot about psychology and even more about myself. I remember being in this weird position trying to figure out who I was now that three of my best friends had graduated. I had lost some of my identity in terms of who I was at school and I hung on every word Mrs. Spry said as she used psychology to help us become better people.

I can't imagine what it's like to teach high school students... kids who think they're adults but are typically far from it. Mrs. Spry went above and beyond... showing patience and making the class entertaining despite starting at 7:45 am. I desperately wanted Oprah and the rest of the world to recognize what an amazing teacher Mrs. Spry was... and I wanted Oprah to do something to let her know how much we appreciated her.

Obviously, Oprah, nor her staff, responded to my e-mails. And I suppose Mrs. Spry and I will never get to go on the show since Wednesday marked the series finale. Since getting a DVR last summer I've watched nearly every Oprah episode during the farewell season and I think everyone involved went above and beyond to go out on top.

I have so many memories of lessons learned from the show, but the one I felt echoed over and over this week was... "You are not alone. You are enough." When there are so many negative influences around us, shoving us down... there was finally someone offering some encouragement... offering to build us up.. and for that I'm grateful.

One of my favorite moments I'll take from the show were Oprah's final words... "To God be the glory." Earlier during the show, Oprah acknowledged people had questioned what God she talked about during the show... there are plenty of sources questioning her faith especially in light of her infatuation with "the secret" years ago. Oprah addressed it on Wednesday and said, "I'm talking about the Alpha, the Omega, the one and only G-O-D." I don't think it's my job to judge her faith, but I'm grateful for her recognition of God's impact on her life.

I could go on for days about Oprah memories... but found a montage with some of the highlights... farewell oprah!

half-siblings...

My dad was married, had two kids and a divorce before he even met my mom. I don't know a ton of the details, but there are plenty of jokes about my dad trying to survive as a single man with a limited cooking repertoire. Fortunately, he met my mom and wore her down for them to marry October 8, 1977. They had me in 1982 soon after my older sister graduated from high school and my brother was in middle school. Four and a half years later Kelsie joined the party.

I don't have a ton of memories of us growing up... I remember when Mindy lived above the funeral home and I remember Adam torturing me... As I got older I remember Mindy trying to spoil me with movies Dad wouldn't let me watch but ensuring I had at least read the book first. When I moved back home after college, Mindy and I spent countless Wednesday nights at the dollar movie theaters. Kelsie was with us sometime in 2004 to see Ladder 49 and the three of us left looking a wreck with puffy, red bloodshot eyes after nearly two hours of straight sobbing. We try to have a sibling movie night on Thanksgiving Eve every year as one of the few opportunities we still have to get everyone together. 

Today, Oprah devoted her show to the announcement she found out she has a half-sister she never knew about. Hearing their story and watching them meet, just made me even more grateful I have known my half-sister my entire life. We have definitely grown closer over the years and I love her dearly. Some people are surprised when our entire family gets together for a birthday dinner including my dad's ex-wife and her husband, but I'm so grateful for my parents allowing our relationship as siblings to grow as we grew up and matured. I can't imagine life without Mindy or Adam let alone without my brother-in-law Jamie and my adorable nephews Zac and Cameron. 

Tonight... I'm incredibly thankful for half-siblings... so thankful I dropped the "half" a long time ago...

best friend...

I have a hard time with the label "best friend." I always thought people used it too loosely when I was younger. I never understood how you could have more than one best friend, but people threw it around to any of their friends.

I was catching up on some Oprah this week and she had Martha Stewart on her show to talk about life post-prison. I didn't follow the Martha trial at all. I have a tendency to trust our justice system and if they decided she was guilty I'll go along with it. It's weird to me how many people either decided she was innocent or were quick to forgive and help Martha's empire rebound so quickly. On the show, she seemed like prison was no big deal and just a place she had to stay for a little while. What I didn't know, but Oprah asked her about was her best friend of 20 years testifying against her in court.

Oprah: What was that like?

Martha: Disheartening, to say in the mildest possible terms.

Oprah: Was she always a best friend? Because I always think a best friend couldn't do that.

Martha: Well, I thought so. Best friends are sometimes not, and it's too bad.

Oprah: And [she] wrote an unflattering book.

Martha: Yeah, it's a sad thing. I did not read the book, and I have nothing to do with her and I'm sorry about that.

Oprah: You're sorry about that.

Martha: Yeah, of course. You would be. You would be horrified. Well, you can't let it be the end of your world, because people change. People are odd. People do strange things for different reasons. Sometimes you don't know the reasons. You don't know what kind of pressure they're under...

I've had people I've called best friends over the last 20ish years. I'm still friends with most of them... some closer than others but it's always been a struggle for me. I don't like losing touch with anyone, but especially not someone I considered a best friend. It has become harder as I got older to balance friends from home with this whole real world thing. I've added some good friends along the way, but unfortunately lost some too. As my wise criminal friend Martha says, "Best friends are sometimes not, and it's too bad."

To those I call friend... I'm grateful... To those I've lost... I miss you. To everyone... here's to avoiding Martha Stewart moments in court.