Cracker Jacks of Joy

 

If I have a mantra for 2014 it is this: WORDS MATTER.

I lost one of my closest friends this week and now it has become her words that I want to hear. I want to hear Andrea say once again, “So proud of you, Smith! God’s got this for you, girl!” Or,  “I woke up smiling this morning and said a prayer for you. I love you most, Smith.”

After all, these exact words, and many like it, are still stored in my phone as text messages ~ my little cracker jacks of joy from her that I keep re-reading to make myself smile, instead of cry.

Words matter. This week in particular, HER words matter!

In my quest to cling to something lasting and permanent of her, I find myself marinating in these little nuggets of wisdom, wanting to stick them in my pocket to pull them back out and ride them around like a pony, when I start slipping back into sadness.

Andrea Sloan hated sadness.

We promised one another that we would always strive to turn our fears into faith and our doubts into courage. When we were disappointed or down-trodden, we would speak truth back into one another’s life and remind each other that in every moment, we have an opportunity to stand in confidence instead of insecurity.

So if a boy broke our little heart, for instance, we would say it like it is, “That guy clearly lacks the capacity to invest in someone extraordinary and fun,” as we’d giggle our way to another bowl of queso. HA!

Words matter. And in my own interactions and exchange of words, I sense they are losing their potency and power.  As a writer, I’ve watched my own power of story get lost and watered down by the trivial, unimportant and, well  ~ super stupid!

I write recaps of ABC’s the Bachelor/Bachelorette every season as the Reality TV Examiner  on Examiner.com. Yes, my recaps are snarky, entertaining and funny. But, they are also crass, unimportant and often inappropriate and suck brain cells from my head, sentence by sentence.

I desperately want the words I contribute on this planet to be ironic, funny and hope-filled. But I also want to use humor and depth of soul to reach the heart of people and allow folks to connect on a deeper level ~ On a level that stretches above and beyond reality TV and taps at the soul of the purposeful and endearing.

And so, for this reason, I will no longer be recapping The Bachelor.

{I know, enter a deep sigh here}.

Fear not, my friends, I will still be writing. But I will focus my efforts instead on writing words that matter  ~ stories that are honest, intelligent, and refreshing.

For those of you who have followed me every season of covering The Bachelor, I want to say THANK YOU. And I want to invite you to continue to interact with me here on my personal blog: SmithWit.

Is it weird to be sad to let go of the dumb and mundane? Because I am.

Yet, I am very excited to stop hiding behind my sarcasm and snark to intentionally take this step towards contributing something more important and purposeful ~ by delivering cracker jacks of joy instead!