Thursday, August 7, 2008

"The List is Long and Distinguished." Goose, Top Gun

After writing my last post, I feel compelled to write a complete list of all the friends who got me through an incredibly chaotic chapter of my life. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a nickname for anybody who has a positive impact on my life.

Thank you, to everyone. You know who you are.

The Godfather
Farnsworth
Ookie
Sea Bass
Indy
Big B
MMJD
Homie
Dr. Allen
Glorious
aLEEEEEEsa
Hot Rod
Warren G
Fernando
Del
O'Malley
Ingot
Boggs
Donna
JJ
Spanky
McGillicuddy

The person who got me through the absolute worst time...

Punky

And the person who had the biggest part in guiding me back to myself...

McGee.

Some of the most memorable things said to me by these people:

"You're an honorable man."

"Promise me that when I walk by your desk in the morning, you'll be sitting there."

"Whether you ask him to or not, the Lord will watch over you."

"Here's a card with what to do if you ever lose it and get pulled over drunk."

"You need to be careful. People attach to you, and sometimes end up getting hurt. Without you even knowing it."

"At the lowest point in my life, I asked God for help. That night, my house was broken into. And then my life got better." (I did a similar thing; and that night my car was broken into. And then things got better.)

And probably the most important of all...

"Every person you date, every decision you make, every thing you do... needs to be based on one thing. What's best for your kids."

I think I'm actually going to be okay. It's a good feeling to finally have. :)


4 comments:

Idaho Dad said...

What's best for your kids.

My dad didn't heed this advice, or maybe he never received it. After my parents split, my dad did what was best for him. We rarely saw him and he quickly became a stranger to me. No surprise then, that thirty years later I have no relationship with him whatsoever.

You won't be that kind of dad because you're thinking about it, writing about it... Doing what's best for your kids as you move on in life. If you have that as Rule #1, I think you're going to be fine.

Kelley said...

That is a very sweet blog- I think you will be okay too!!

It appears that you have very kind friends who are a good support system for you. Now you can just look forward to all the exciting things waiting for you in the future.

~Kelley

Anonymous said...

Ryan,

You are one of a kind- as a person, and as a father. Whether you know it or not, you've been ok all along- just an incredible guy dealing with incredible hardship, and you've been handling it the best you could. Even during the times when you felt your world was crumbling around you, you held it together more than most people would've been able to. You are resilient, and like I said before, you may be changed in some ways (maybe even in a positive way), but the core of who you are remains- and you are beautiful- I mean in a very manly way, of course!

Punky

Anonymous said...

Hey, it's good to hear that things are looking up! Give me a call some time, we can hang out :-)