On Our Own Four Feet

There are moments when my days of unemployment (both the checks and the situation) seem long ago. Yet, when I spend time with the friends who emerged during that period in my life, I can't help but marvel at how much that period of time changed my life. In that period of time, the rules changed. In that period of time, the security disappeared, and I was forced to find new methods and new solutions. And, as that period stretched from months to years and many re-visits, I would like to think I learned a lot about standing on my own two feet.

But when I talk to the friends who emerged with me from a time we might like to forget, I realize that, while we learned about standing on our own two feet, we also learned about standing together, on four or six or eight feet. We learned about asking for help, and about accepting help. We learned about being strong, but also about admitting we weren't always so strong.

So today, with those days behind me, at least for the moment, I am grateful for what came out of them--my ability to stand up, and people to stand with me. Because we may be able to learn to stand on our own two feet, but it feels much better when we are standing with friends, on our own four or six.