To blog or not to blog, is that really a question?

Most of my friends (and family) no longer seem to touch up their blogs anymore. I'm not sure what happened there but I blame it all on Facebook. It seems the fine art of blogging has become another technological 'has-been' due to the ever-changing ways in which we communicate with one another. That's why most of my friends' and family members' blogs are anywhere from 1 to 5 years old now (since their last post that is - but with one happy exception (thank you Joy). I decided to still invest a bit of time in my blog. Facebook for all its connections is sometimes very impersonal; that's an odd irony about a place that is 'supposed' to be a place to make strong personal connections but when you look at the stuff people post.... well, it's hard to relate to some of it so - no connection. The blog still seems more like a diary; albeit a very OPEN diary. So, I think it's probably still got a place in my life. So, here's today's thought... er, actually it's a thought from last night really. I was driving home last night from another gathering with my friends at the BWW (Buffalo Wild Wings). These are two of my very best buddies and we always enjoy getting together even though now it only occurs about once every couple of months. On the way home, I drove by a laundromat and it brought back thoughts from a much more difficult time in my life - the one and only time I got laid off by my employer - back in the late Winter of 2012. Having been so very close to almost completing 17 years of service with that employer, I was dismayed to say the least when they booted me out the door. They provided good severance so I didn't hate them for their harsh and money-driven actions but I was very disappointed that I could no longer be deemed valuable enough to keep after 11 years of steady layoffs. To say my self-esteem took a hit was putting it mildly. The bigger fear at that particular time was how would I provide for my family and what would I do next? I was later to see that the rest of my best friends in life from that place (and I had several there) would get the axe just like me; no surprise but I felt pain for their being placed in the same spot in which I had been placed. Oh yeah, the laundromat - why did that come up you ask? Well I'll tell you why. This particular laundromat has a very important spot in my heart and here's why. Shortly after I got surplussed, one of my other best friends Shawn contacted me with offers to help. I expressed to him that I was very concerned for my and my family's future. I was facing a big job change no doubt and while I had polished my C programming skills to a white hot sheen over 22 years, the future was calling for C++, Java and other such skills and at least one prospective employer to whom I was talking was interested in C++ skills. That's when Shawn suggested we meet at this laundromat. He was going there to catch up some laundry and he said we could talk about it since he had recently been employed in a position that required C++ skills. I met Shawn at the laundromat and he came prepared! He had a huge (probably 4" thick) C++ book which he generously GAVE to me! I was overwhelmed at his kindness and generosity. I needed a friend at that time and he was there for me. We sat and talked about jobs and C++ stuff, life and etc., and he gave me the confidence to feel that whatever the future held, I could get there with friends like him, Bill and Peter. Sure enough, I did land a job at a new employer with a need for C and C++ skills and I used that book that Shawn gave me a lot in the first year! So, now as I pass by that laundromat, I don't think about unemployment, lack of self worth, panic over lost income or worry about skills that might not meet the modern market place. I think of a friend who was there for me in my hour of need, who gave me reassurance I could learn that ole C++ stuff and it wouldn't even slow me down, who prayed for me and convinced me that there was still a bright future ahead of me - all by his very quiet actions of friendship. That's what that little laundromat means to me. Thank you Shawn. You helped me in an extreme hour of need and I will forever be grateful to you buddy! I am so very grateful to God for His help during that time and for providing me with a new job I love and very grateful for the dear friends He has given me over these many years.