Ode to Jamie

Jamie has written all these great odes as part of her goodbye process. An ode to WBCL...an ode to her roommate...I love them.

I stink at odes. Odes are poetry. And I'm well aware that "falling short" doesn't begin to cover my inability to create masterful (or mediocre) poetry.

So essentially I'm calling this an Ode to Jamie because I cave to peer pressure and want to fit in with her. But really it's just a glorified letter.

Dear, Dear Jamie,

I remember the day I walked into the station (fashionably late) and you left your post at the phones to settle me into my chair in the studio so I could listen to all the interviews ahead of mine. And I remember talking to you after the interview ended and knowing in my heart you were a kindred spirit. (Precious few of those abound in this world.)

And later that night when you emailed me to tell me you were interested in forming a friendship, my heart surged with joy...there's an inexplicable comfort in being chosen back. You know?

Our friendship (appropriately) began at Starbucks...oh if only we'd known how important coffee would become to our future! Over skinny caramel macchiatos we began that awkward sharing of information - each of us longing to be real but hoping the other would understand and accept the random offerings of information.

I quickly learned you have a heart for the Lord that far exceeds the ordinary. You sent emails of encouragement, laced with Scripture, offered your prayers and words of deep wisdom. You challenged me in ways no one else had. And you did it all with love and grace.

The day you told me you were leaving for California, you caught me completely off guard. I was so excited for your new adventures...and yet God wasted no time in stirring my heart about your job.

I love it that one of my favorite stories is one I get to share with you...the story of how God directed us both. How He wove our storylines together for that time.

Coming to work with you has been the smoothest transition of my life. (I don't believe smooth and transition have ever before been used in the same sentence when I'm behind its crafting.) You planned so well...you and your 39 page manual...and you have made this job so easy for me to love.

You leave big shoes to fill...or is it big pants cuffs to trip over?...and I know I won't always do it with the finesse you did, but I promise to love and embrace it just like you did. I promise to give it everything I have in me (which before coffee, granted, may be minimal) and do my very best to make you proud.

And every time I go into that studio and sit in "my" seat...I'll think of you and that first day.

And I'll try to remember to turn on the headset.

Mmmkay Pumpkin?

Bek