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the meeting

as she drove to the meeting
which she did not think
would turn out well

she was thinking

Go with love

these are people
I’ve worked with

People I love

and she was calm

she had already
figured out

actually her gut
had figured out
and she had listened

It’s not about the money

it was about her life
and how she just
could not

do it any more

lose her life
that way

editing editing
hour after hour
not let anyone down

make a special
gem
for each one
no matter how long
it took

no matter
how much it took

out of her life

she was exhausted
and her husband
who adored her
wanted her

to not do that
to herself

anymore

and when everything
shut down
and she had a little time
to just

be

and some time
to see

she didn’t want
to do that to herself
either

she was done

new life
she said
here I come

when she got there
her heart was open
and she was calm

Go with love

and these people
her friends
who were trying
to start the paper
back up again
needed her

but she was calm
and she was ready
knew the truth

her gut knew

She was ready

Everyone there understood

no one else could do
what she could do
and had done
for so long
she knew so many people
was loved
by so many
for her hard work
good spirit
and newspaper gems

it was a lot of pressure
from her friends at the paper
her friends who wanted her
to take care of herself
and every one else
most of all

from herself

but there was another part
of the equation
which was who she was

now

and what she could
and would
and couldn’t
and would no longer
try
to do

and she brought that
simply
and with love

to the meeting
too

and because of the way
she was
when she came
to talk to them
they relaxed
and saw her
the way she saw them

and they listened

It’s all the hours
she said
I can’t keep working
all these hours
and if I take
my old job back
and I still have
to do it all myself
I will do my best
to do it no matter what
to not let anyone down

and I can’t
I’m not going to do
that to myself
any more

so I can’t take the job

and they listened

they’d never known
everything she did
just knew that somehow
she got it all done
magically filled 12 to 16
pages during the
busy summer months
did whatever was needed

but it wasn’t magic
it was her

editing editing
hour after hour
not let anyone down
make a special
gem
for each one
no matter how long
it took

now they heard
started to understand
and said

how can we make
this work

and it was simple

people have to
understand
and help
each other

and people
have to take time
to listen to
their guts
their hearts
and their friends

hear what
is most important

and know

what they can
and can not

do

from 2012 — Bill Eberle

March 23, 2012     © 2013, Bill Eberle