The EXperience

[SimplySheri]

~~To often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.~~  Leo Buscaglia

So I came home from work yesterday heartsick.  The visit I supervised has been full of pain for all involved for since the visits started.  This parent is so full of anger and hurt and loss that when the children reach out for a glimmer of hope, they are left empty and sad.  So when I went home, those lingering thoughts and feelings trailed behind me like a tired toddler.

Then I got mail.  Not just mail but I got something so grand and beautiful and touching that, just for a minute, life was perfect.  So first, I would like to say thank you to Mandolinrain‌ for the amazing gifts.  I am speechless and delighted with my gifts!!  My day was so much better because of you and I am humbled and awed.

So why here in front of all of EX am I thanking another EX member?  We do have messages for that, I know.  But I have been a part of ex for wayyyy too many years to not let the new quitters know that ex works because of the kindness, compassion, and empathy of its members.  We care.  We truly do.

So if you have the courage to share your story with us, you will be heard.  If you pour your heart out, you will be hugged.  If you need support, you will have shoulders offered. 

Quitting can be done alone.  I have friends and family members who quietly put them down.  But if you are here, use us!!  Ask for help!  Ask questions!  Share and be prepared to be touched by the kindness, generosity, and wisdom of those Exers who stay to share what they've learned. 

And thank you to those Exers who do stay because you know what it's like to quit.  You know the sadness, the struggles, the ups and downs of the quit journey.  You not only help, you change lives, you touch lives, and you turn lives around.  I will forever be grateful to each of you. 

And, Mandolinrain‌, you gave me a perfect moment and I love you forever for that  

Sheri