Friday Fricassee

You've reached a new level of awesome.

So many of you were disappointed to not have gotten in on the submissions.  Many times it was the frustration of mistiming, or a formatting glitch, or just the fact that there was such a HUGE RUSH at each submission window that, even if you timed it perfectly, the odds were still against you.

I absolutely would have felt the same level of frustration/disappointment/angst/sorrow.  Knowing me, I probably would have cried.

Well, a little bit, anyway.

But in all that, and among SO MANY of you, nobody complained.  NOBODY.

As in, NOBODY.

I've been in leadership roles online and in real life.  I've dealt with groups as diverse as four-year-olds in a preschool, adults in a church small-group setting, a huge Christian chat room online, and a sixteen-voice chamber group.

In every other instance, SOMEONE ALWAYS COMPLAINED.  One of my chamber group singers (I was the director; in fact, I founded the group) called me and told me how I was doing everything wrong and that I needed to drop a few songs because it was too hard to learn them all (read: singer incompetence).  One of the parents in the daycare complained to my director (without talking to me first) that I never greeted her child when she brought him to class (over an hour late, while I was in the middle of dealing with a dozen other children).  Her son was one of my favorites and I always gave him a huge hug after she said good-bye.  She never saw that part.

Then there was the church member who told everyone she no longer felt welcomed in my home because I had called her (gently) on some inappropriate behavior (which was my role because, yanno, I was one of the group leaders).  And the PTA members who told the principal I was an incompetent music teacher (the principal initiated a standing ovation at the performance of the musicals I'd written for the kids; something, I later learned, she had never done before).  And the misbehaving online chatters who would abuse me in a private box after I'd banned them from the room.  (Yeah, calling me obscene names is definitely going to make me change my mind about banning you.)

That's real life.  It's not outside of normal.

Then there's THIS group.  There's YOU.  And the dynamic is completely different.

So many of you received a rejection from the bot AND THANKED ME ANYWAY.  So many of you were frustrated and disappointed and SPOKE WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT AND APPRECIATION ANYWAY.

Even those of you who expressed sincere frustration and sadness did so in a non-complaining, non-accusatory way.  You shared your feelings, and I felt them along with you.

I can't tell you how amazing this is.  And how grateful I am.

I've said it so many times.  But I really love this community.  REALLY LOVE.

As for your donations?  I am humbled beyond words.  The button still makes me squirm.  That's just me, I guess.  "Thank you" isn't enough to say for your generosity, but it's all I can manage without blubbering and blathering.

So, thank you.

And may your weekend be as amazing as you are!