Just the way you are...

Today a girl friend of mine and I were talking about a relationship she's in. It's difficult, it's frustrating, and she's barely hanging on some days, but the relationship is worth the effort because her honey loves her for herself and she doesn't have to be anyone other than who she is. She's decided to tough it out, and keep working on it, because what she's found is so rare. I'm rooting for her.

Then, on the way home tonight, I heard the Billy Joel song "I love you just the way you are". I really listened to the words and it meant a lot to me. In my life, there have been very few people whom I believe love me just for me. My parents do, my children do, I have certain friends that do. Most significant though, I'm finally on that list. I know I have some rough edges, I know there are situations I wish I'd handled better. Perfectionism whispers insistently and points out all my failures (and those negative voices from the past don't help much) but I'm slowly learning to tune them out, and to hear "I love you just the way you are" from a variety of voices in my life. That doesn't mean I'll quit working on those rough edges, but it's sure nice to know that I'm loved because I'm me.