Bestie....

Almost a decade ago...I had a tough time. Hubby was travelling 3 weeks out of the month and I was attempting to manage life with my 3 itty bitty ones who were all in diapers. I was drifitng away in a sea of depression and searching for a life preserver....someone or something to hold onto.

I reached out on the internet to find a friend....Someone I could connect to and write... a penpal of sorts. I ended up meeting a woman whom I may never meet but I carry in my heart. it seems strange to say my best friend in the world lives an ocean away deep in the heart of Scotland....and we have never met.

She and I both belong to the same faith. We talk about church, scriptures, conference talks. We talk about our lives, our ups, our downs. We talk of our challenges and our triumphs. Many times we have wondered just how come we could be such good friends and be so far apart. I mused perhaps we were inseperable in the pre-existance and in this life we were to learn to stand on our own two feet...but Heavenly Father couldn't bear to keep us completely apart and helped us find our way to each other over the internet. It could be true...it may not.

Next month it will be 12 years since we began writing and we are still hoping at some point we will meet face to face and I can finally hug the friend I've held constantly in my heart over the years. Until then....I will continue the tapping away at my keys and keeping in contact with my friend, my sister.

10 Years Later....

To most who really know me, nothing affects me for the most part. I put on a strong front even when I am aching inside. 10 years ago when the first plane struck I was stunned and struck to the very core. It was the hardest thing for me to take my two kids to school and drop them off as if it were any other day. Afterwards, I cried while holding my youngest in my arms. Hubby wasn't home. He was travelling for work and sat up in Seattle in a hotel near the Space Needle. He called early...he was coming home. When the second plane hit my heart nearly stopped. I watched the drama unfold and things falling from the tower, only later to find out they were people jumping to avoid the fire on their floor. I cried more and felt very lonely. Hubby instantly wanted to join the military, but at that time they told him he was too old. He was heartbroken.

Years later Hubby and I found ourselves travelling in Italy. Yo be honest I hadn't paid attention to the date when I initially booked the trip, but we were in Tuscany on September 11th jsut a few years ago. The day after we took a train into Venice for a couple days. As we arrived at the train station we emerged to find this beautiful statue and several tea light candles sitting at the base in honor of Americans and to show support. I was so touched by the tribute that I cried. This time because I felt the love and support of the world for us. Several locals figuring out we were Americans approached and gave us hugs as we all cried.

Ten years later I am not still not able to watch the tributes. The pain remains too fresh in my heart. I know what happened and I haven't given in to the fear those terrorists tried to instill. Instead I cling to my country and the love we as strangers have for one another. We may not have one thing in common, but as Americans we stand together, hand in hand with friends around the world against the evils which lurk. Together we stand in honor of those who lost their life in a useless attack.

Not in My Job Description....

At least it wasn't in my job description until yesterday. Life has been...well....let's just say it hasn't been dull. Yesterday was my first solo flight taking the helm of the front desk. As it always seems to happen....the most unusual circumstances...something to throw my wolrd into a psycho dizzy whirl....as usual. I came into work and my Supervisor pulled me aside and explained one of our guests was having a very tough time. His life took a tailspin turn discovering his wife was leaving himm and his mother passed away all at once. He turned to alcohol and we watched sadly as he stumbled through the lobbby on the way back to his room. Soon, his coworkers came more amd more aware as his new habit had taken a toll on his ability to do his job. His manager was notified and we found ourselves hosting a full fledged intervention right there at work. All went well when the managers were there, but as they returned home and dwindled he returned from going out for dinner and obviously more than a few drinks. When he tried to place a few more small bottles of wine on the counter my security guard, Art and I confronted him. I refused to sell him any more alcohol. He burst out into tears. He held my hand. We consoled him. We prayed with him. We boosted him up. We gave him the one thing he needed.....love. So, my job description now, includes Intervention Specialist....and according to my GM...a good soul.