A Hard Act to Follow

One of the best summers I had as a teen was the summer I played on a softball team that didn't lose a game all season and then went on to win not just one tournament but four. Every player on that team was a good player, and every player was good at everything ... hitting, fielding, running ... we were just flat-out, downright good softball players. But as is true of most things in life, there was one gal on our team who was better than good ... she was fantastic, especially when it came to batting. There was always a groan from the whichever one of us whose name was listed on the lineup to bat after her ... the pressure of stepping up to the plate after her was overwhelming. At the very least, she always got on base, and most of the time she sent the ball sailing way, way, way over the fence for a home run. Yep, not one of us wanted to bat after her because it was hard to follow greatness. Even though we were all good players, we all knew she was better than good ... we all knew she was great.

Both times I've collaborated with my two guest writers who joined with me to write my previous post, "Only the Beginning," I've been amazed and astounded by the way the pieces go together like a hand in a glove. I write my part first and send it along to the two of them, and they then write their parts independently of one another and send them to me. It shouldn't have surprised me this time around, I suppose, but when I first read their words for our latest post, I was completely taken aback by the wonder of the way all of our thoughts and ideas fit together. Ask any writer and he or she will tell you that's pretty unusual ... three different people with three different writing styles ... more often than not, I have a hard enough time just putting my own thoughts into cohesive sentences. I've barely made a dent in all the emails that have come in over the last few days about our joint post, but of the ones I've read thus far, there is one recurring message ... the words of my friends are touching people deeply.

If you haven't read "Only the Beginning," you should. And then you should share it with someone who needs to read it. Thank you to my friends who joined me in writing ... you gals are better than good, you're great. You're a hard act to follow for sure.