the other end of the table

I’m usually the one soliciting the interview, trying to put the interviewee at ease, assuring them that they don’t have to be perfectly eloquent — that I will find a way to weave their words into a cohesive story. This time, I was the one in need of encouragement. I have a new appreciation for the “other end of the table,” the other side of the interview process.

I’ll admit it right now: I was a wreck. Despite the fact that I stayed up late last night pondering all that Emilie’s words have meant to me, I started to panic five minutes before my cell phone rang. So I put aside all the materials I’d gathered up in preparation and just said a little prayer. I asked Emilie to be with me, and despite my fears, I trust that she was.

I am still sitting here at Caribou Coffee on 25th Street in Fargo, the place where I stole away to try to be part of a phone interview with a reporter from the Catholic Spirit — the paper for which Emilie Lemmons wrote a monthly column, and where she formerly worked as a reporter. The article should come out January 8, I believe. I felt honored to have been asked, but honestly, also wholly inadequate. My task was to share how Emilie has changed the way I view and experience parenthood, and how she has affected and impacted my faith. Truth be told, her impact has been tremendous, but I am still absorbing her words, still processing their impact. I’m not sure if enough time has passed for me to state, in words, the true effect, since it is still in motion. I hope that something I said will make sense and be meaningful, but even more, I hope that my words will bring another piece of healing to her family and friends. I have no idea if I accomplished my goal. I did the best I could, and the rest is up to the reporter. I trust her. I know she will do a great job. And I trust, too, that Emilie will see to it that it turns out well.

When the article is out, I will post it here.

Be well in your day. Embrace all that is good in it. And I will do the same.