{"id":61799,"date":"2011-09-07T15:35:38","date_gmt":"2011-09-07T19:35:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/61799\/open-letter-friends\/"},"modified":"2011-09-07T15:35:38","modified_gmt":"2011-09-07T19:35:38","slug":"open-letter-friends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/61799\/open-letter-friends\/","title":{"rendered":"An Open Letter to My Friends"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i1105.photobucket.com\/albums\/h349\/MoonlightMagic60\/3737788_f520.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"520\" height=\"403\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i1105.photobucket.com\/albums\/h349\/MoonlightMagic60\/imagesCAH71064.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"225\" \/><\/p>\n<p><font size=\"3\">My dear friends,<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font size=\"3\"> <\/font><\/p>\n<p><font size=\"3\">As someone who was basically a loner for many years (and still am in some ways) when I make a friend, or several if I\u2019m lucky, I really and truly appreciate them. And I can say that I truly have been lucky because I have met so many good people on this social networking journey that I started way back when in July 2007 on good ol\u2019 MySpace. Along the way I have made some good friends, as well as some casual ones. I have made some friendships that have lasted for years while some lasted much less than that. But regardless of how long they are or were in my life, I am grateful to have had these people be a part of it at all. I believe every person who enters our lives is meant to add some kind of significance to it, for better or for worse, to teach us lessons and enrich our lives in some way by the lessons that we learn from them. My life is much fuller and richer because of all that I have learned from all of you.<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font size=\"3\"><br \/>\n<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font size=\"3\"> <\/font><\/p>\n<p><font size=\"3\">I have always believed you should treat people as you want them to treat you. It\u2019s the golden rule and it also just makes sense. Why should I expect you to treat me well if I act like a jerk towards you, and vice versa?\u00a0 When my online friends rally around me with care, concern and support it means a lot to me, probably more than anyone realizes. I have been fortunate enough to experience this not once or twice, but repeatedly when I have posted a status or a blog regarding something that is bothering me or something that I am worried about, or even if I need to blow off some steam, or if I just had a bad day and need some cyberhugs and words of support and encouragement. It makes me feel good to know that even though I might not physically be able to see you or are physically with you everyday, you are all still out there for me and you care. Thank you for this. &lt;3 I do my best to reciprocate because as I said, I believe in treating people as I want them to treat me, and I hope to give as good as I get. With this thought in mind, though, I know that despite my best efforts, sometimes I don\u2019t meet the standards I have set for myself regarding this.<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font size=\"3\"> <\/font><\/p>\n<p><font size=\"3\"><br \/>\n<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font size=\"3\">Quite often, I spread myself too thin, both online and in real life. I try to be little Patty People Pleaser to everyone and it\u2019s because I REALLY WANT to please everyone, but most times I feel I come up short in doing this . For example, I always want to read and comment on all of my friend\u2019s blogs and statuses all of the time because I do care and I want to support them but sometimes, time does not always allow me to do that as much as I would like. The same goes for emailing. My friends on the social networks are fairly easy to stay in touch with because all of you are basically in one or two or even three places so keeping up is easier for me but for my friends who aren\u2019t, I sometimes feel I neglect them because \u201csocial networking\u201d is just so much easier. Isn\u2019t it more convenient to take care of all of your shopping needs in one trip to Walmart or Target rather than going store to store? (You know something? Before I just typed this statement, I never really made the connection before but yes, when it comes to staying in touch with people, these social networks are exactly like a big ol\u2019 Walmart store, aren\u2019t they? Including some of the people that you find on them, LOL) But for as much as in some ways sometimes I feel like I don\u2019t do enough or at least as much as I want to for some of my friends, for others, sometimes I think that I might do too much, or maybe more than some people would prefer or feel comfortable with.<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font size=\"3\"> <\/font><\/p>\n<p><font size=\"3\"><br \/>\n<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font size=\"3\">Going back to what I have been saying about treating others how I want to be treated and appreciating greatly when friends show their concern for me, in that respect, I try to do the same for those that I care about but sometimes I think I express my appreciation a bit TOO much. When it comes time for my friends to go through difficulties, I know some like knowing I\u2019m right there to help in any way that I can while I know others would prefer some space during these times. To be honest, sometimes it\u2019s hard for me to turn my support on and off, being right there for some while maybe backing off just a little bit with others when they need it. As much as I try to, it\u2019s hard to please everyone and what works for some doesn\u2019t work for everyone. That\u2019s the plain and simple truth when it comes to all things in life and there is nothing wrong with it. I\u2019m trying to learn how to adjust this, how to give more to those who need and want it while giving some breathing room to those who need that instead but as I said\u2026..I\u2019m learning.<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font size=\"3\"><br \/>\n<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font size=\"3\"> <\/font><\/p>\n<p><font size=\"3\">In the end, everything I do, for better or for worse, sincerely comes from my heart and I think those of you who really know me, know this about me. And for those of you who don\u2019t\u2026. well now you do. \u00a0I often act on what my heart tells me to do, maybe too much sometimes, while other times, maybe not enough. Either way the main thing is\u2026.you are in my heart regardless. It\u2019s hard sometimes to find a happy balance in any area of our lives and for me, this seems to be one, but I\u2019m working on it. For those that I do manage to find that perfect balance for, I hope that I show you the care and appreciation that you deserve. And for those that I don\u2019t, I truly am sorry, but I\u2019m trying.\u00a0 And if there are times I drive you nuts, chances are, there are just as many times you drive me nuts, too. Consider us even, LOL. But isn\u2019t that the way it usually is with the people we care about the most in our lives? \u00a0I\u2019m not perfect but I try my best, and I try my best because I care.<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font size=\"3\"> <\/font><\/p>\n<p><font size=\"3\"><br \/>\n<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font size=\"3\">Each of your presence in my life makes a difference in it for the better every time I interact with you in any way. Thank you for being there. Thank you for caring. Thank you for your support. Thank you for simply being my friends.<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font size=\"3\"><br \/>\n<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font size=\"3\"> <\/font><\/p>\n<p><font size=\"3\">With much love, gratitude, and appreciation,<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font size=\"3\">Moonlight Magic<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font size=\"3\"> <\/font><\/p>\n<p><font size=\"3\"> <\/font><\/p>\n<p><font size=\"3\"> <\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My dear friends, As someone who was basically a loner for many years (and still am in some ways) when I make a friend, or several if I\u2019m lucky, I really and truly appreciate them. And I can say that I truly have been lucky because I have met so many good people on this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,2,11],"tags":[49,59,2437,4192],"class_list":["post-61799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life","category-other","category-people","tag-friends-2","tag-friendship","tag-gratitude","tag-thanks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61799"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61799\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendburst.com\/blog-new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}