Pride...In The Name of Love

No, this post has absolutely nothing to do with U2.

What this post deals with are two different people who have been in my life for a very long time that I want to spend a moment praising for their recent efforts.

A week ago, one of my oldest and dearest friends, Jerry Murdock, held a party to, as he phrased it, "Celebrate the Murdocks". He didn't make a big noise as to WHY he was wanting to do this, but I would like to think that everyone who made it to the party--and there were about 100 of us--knew why.

About 4 years ago, Jerry and his wife Phyllis took in two children not their own. Phyllis' sister and her husband had gone to a dark place in their lives, and their children were being taken away by the authorities. Rather than see them put in a home of strangers, the two of them took both children, a young boy and his younger sister, into their own house to live beside the couple's own two daughters. Overnight, Jerry and his wife went from having two young children to having four young children, and they were both happy to do it.

Well, time went on, and the situation with the two children's birth parents didn't improve. And, after almost four years of living with them, Jerry and Phyllis decided that it was time to bring the two children into their lives officially. So, taking the proper procedures and steps, they filed adoption papers. And, a few weeks ago the two children became Cody and Stevie Murdock.

Being a good friend of Jerry's, he confided in me throughout the process, telling me the trials and tribulations that occurred, and the stress that it put on him personally to fight for these children's well being. But, throughout it all, he never once faltered. He never thought about himself, but about what needed to be done for those kids. And, even though they never planned it, they now have twice the children they planned on. And with them having the current ages of 10, 11, 12 and 13, he's got more than his fair share of headaches ahead of him. But I know that he won't let anything get to him. Being one of the most laid-back people on the planet, he'll take it all in stride. But I don't want anyone to ever look at his easy-going nature the wrong way: he's willing to fight when the time comes and never back down.

And then there is the matter of someone else in my life--someone even closer to me than Jerry. Earlier this year my wife, Allyson, found herself unemployed. And in this day and age, that's not something anyone wants to face. And what's more, she was quickly coming to realize that the career path she had chosen, that of being a graphic designer, wasn't where she wanted to be at this point. It was time for a change.

So, she began a venture of her own. She had long been talking about starting up a company that involved one of her true passions in life, tea, and fate had brought her the opportunity to pursue that dream.

Thus, she started Coyotea, a company that will provide fine teas to fine dining establishments, along with providing the staff of those places the education to prepare and serve that tea properly. This isn't a wild idea, as she has done her research and there are several successful companies providing these same services in a variety of cities around the country. She has put in hours upon hours of research, created her own special unique blends of tea, and put together a business plan and sales collateral to make this business a success.

Of course, any new business isn't going to bring in any money right off the bat, so she had to do something that would bring in money. Today is her second day working at Starbucks. She understands that it isn't going to bring in the type of money that she made as a graphic designer, but the work environment is far more pleasant than that of a corporate desk job, and it leaves her with the energy to continue to work on her own business in the interim.

It takes an amazing amount of courage to take that leap. To believe in yourself and your dream to the point where you are willing to take far less money, and all but double your workload at the same time. But the ultimate goal is worth it: to have a career that isn't only something that you want to do, but something that you have created from the ground up. Something that you can truly call your own.

So there you have it. Two people who have both taken steps that most wouldn't consider. Done things that others are often too afraid to do themselves. The pride I have in knowing both of these people is incalculable. And that they count me among their friends and loved ones humbles me.

So, I wanted to take a few moments to sit down and share what I was feeling, and express how proud I am to know both of them. Oh, and also to thank them for being inspirations to me in ways that they might not ever truly understand, because, well, they won't see what they've done as anything special. Which is yet another reason that they are that amazing.