Key Dream Support

Mrs. Peel – We’re needed!

Six years ago today Lisa and I held a get together for friends and family, where we celebrated a marriage. Ours. There was food and wine and really amazing cake and dancing to both “Never Tear Us Apart” by INXS and “You Never Call Me By My Name” by David Allen Coe.  We’d been together as a couple for four years before finally making things official. Since then, Lisa’s put up with my weirdness, my foibles, my anxieties and, most importantly, my cats.

She’s also been my number one supporter for all things writing and photography. Lisa’s provided encouragement, critiques, and a sounding board. Meeting her at book club gave me the nudge I needed to start submitting short stories again. She would be the one to cheer loudest when I got an acceptance, and the one who said ‘keep going’ when I received a rejection.

I’ve heard it said, over and over, that the surest way you can predict the success potential of any individual is to look at their support structure: Do they have encouragement? Resources? Schools which help them grow? Protection from depredation? Any or all of these factors can be the tipping point between achieving goals and stumbling in the dark.  Lisa’s been there for the past decade, giving me the nudges I needed to keep going and growing.

I hope everyone out there finds a good support structure: A person who believes. A community who gives.  A team that supports.  Because I know my key dream supporter has made the world a different, better place for me.