Anissa

There are people in the blogging and Twittering communities that seem larger than life. @AnissaMayhew is one of those people. She is snarky, irreverent, crude and hilarious. She has mastered 140 character updating. She’s just one of the blogosphere “cool kids,” but in a nice way.

When I met Anissa at BlogHer ’09, I was uncharacteristically intimidated. I had just arrived at the massive Chicago Sheraton a day earlier and knew no one. I wandered around the lobby aimlessly for awhile, before logging onto Twitter to scout out friendly faces. Anissa was at the bar with the lovely Amanda of @HighImpactMom and invited me to join them. When I arrived, she gave me a hug and set me at ease. And that’s when I met another side of Anissa, soft-spoken, warm and kind. I’ve seen much more of that Anissa since then, and have come to really enjoy having her in my life. Sure, we don’t see each other very often. It doesn’t matter. I’m not one to take wonderful friends for granted.

Anissa probably has more facets to her personality than you can count, but the third one that I want to mention is a vulnerable side. When apologizing to her children, sharing about her first stroke and talking about her young daughter Peyton, a cancer survivor, Anissa shows us that she’s not always quite so big and bad. She’s also scared, tender, loving and gentle.

And now she’s more vulnerable than ever. I’ve been dealing with my own medical issues this week, so I completely missed the news that Anissa had suffered a second stroke yesterday. Today, along with her many, many online friends, I’m sitting helpless from home sending her as many positive and loving vibes as I can.

Come back, Anissa. We miss you. There’s a big empty hole in the Twittersphere without you there.

Read more about Anissa and find updates at Aiming Low.