The other side, the other side, the other side of me

This line from a Hannah Montana song (yes, we watch Hannah Montana in the Hernandez household. Almost as much for the boys as for Mattea) applies to my "Moth to a flame" post a couple of posts back.

Not many people see "the other side" of me. I generally keep it well hidden, buried beneath a facade of calm, laid-back, mild-mannered, generally upbeat Ernie. Once upon a time, no one ever saw that side of me. But, over time, I came to realize that everyone has "the other side".

We all release "the other side" in different ways. Some verbally. Some physically. Some in diaries never meant to be seen. I am very fortunate to have an understanding wife that I can talk to and be with and share with and who is as non-judgemental as anyone I have ever known. It is Theresa that I get to unburden myself with when things seem to get too crazy.

But the week before last, when I was 500 miles away and my family was physically displaced and our world was in turmoil, one evening I just had to vent beyond what was capable through a cell phone.

Words have always been important to me. Reading was the one thing that I could do as a child that kept me absorbed, and I think transported me to different worlds. I don't know that I ever really fantasized about living in Sherwood Forest, or sailing the seas with Sinbad, but I loved reading the stories so much that I read them over and over again. So I guess it was natural for the other side of me to come out in words. Words that I would not feel comfortable saying to anyone in person, but words that I knew I could pour out for others to read, and unburden myself to an anonymous world. Words that could help me get through that moment. Thanks for reading my words.