Deja Vu

I been waiting for so long
Filling time
Looking for you

Earlier this week, Wyatt and I went for a walk down the Nature Trail just next door to the hotel.  We've walked this trail several times since we've been here.  Every time, I have let him off his leash so that he can run and explore while I walk.  Every time, he comes back to the trail every few minutes to check on me.  Every time, he waits for me and I put him back on leash so we can walk back to the hotel.  EVERY TIME!!!  Until now...

I take him off his leash and I start walking.  He was exploring and then he took off after a squirrel or a rabbit.  I had had a hard week already and it wasn't even Wednesday yet.  My mind was on a million things and nothing all at the same time so I wasn't paying attention to him or to how far I had gone.  I get to the "end" of the trail only to turn around and see that Wyatt isn't there.  I don't initially start to freak.  I start walking back every so often calling his name.  I keep walking and I keep calling his name with no response.  My mind and anxiety go into overdrive but it is somewhat tempered by the fact that he has done this once before and it turned out fine.



Wyatt's First MisAdventure

So, I am hoping against hope that he will be back at the hotel.  I have to go back to the hotel anyway because I leave my phone in the room when I walk AND my phone has a flashlight.  Because I'm gonna need that flashlight if he isn't back at the hotel.  So, it takes me about 30 minutes to get back to the hotel.  As I am walking up, one of the girls from the front desk walks outside and acts like she is looking for something.  A gentleman standing there asks her if everything is ok and she responds, "Oh, yeah.  I was just coming outside to see if anyone was looking for a dog."  I raised my hand and said that would be me!  She takes me inside and tells me what a sweet dog Wyatt is and that he is waiting in the office. 

She opens up the office door and the little shit wags his tail and then gives me a side glance.  As if to say, How DARE you leave me?!!  I wanted to strangle him!! 

Found out later that he walked right into the hotel and went to the stairwell.  (We take the stairwell to go in and out of the hotel.)  But because he couldn't open the door, he headed back to the lobby.  My coworker happened to be sitting in the lobby and called him over.  He jumped right into her lap and made himself comfortable.  He got down and when she said Sit, he sat.  And when she said Stay, he stayed.  Right up until a mom and little girl came into the lobby.  Wyatt ran to the little girl and knocked her down.  She started crying and he tried to hide.  My coworker was pretty sure he was mine because he looked like the dog I post pics of but couldn't remember.  By the time she went up to get her phone and came back down, I had already come and got him.

The little shit tried to play the victim when we got back to our room.  It took a while before I let him off the hook.  But all is forgiven and I love him to pieces!!  I just hope he waits a bit longer before he tries it again.  My heart just can't take it!  lol

Forever Young

Some are like water, some are like the heat

Some are a melody and some are the beat

Sooner or later they all will be gone

Why don't they stay young?

It's so hard to get old without a cause

I don't want to perish like a fading horse

Youth's like diamonds in the sun,

And diamonds are forever

Oh, how the years have been kind to us.  Last weekend was my 30th class reunion.  I graduated from South Charleston High School in WV in 1986.  It seems like forever ago I was 17.  But holy cow!!  Being at the reunion made it seem like yesterday.  

At the end of Stand By Me, there is a quote "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve.  Jesus, does anyone?"  My friends when I was twelve were Pat, Tracy, Mary, Julie and Julie.  In a time of zero self-esteem, of zero confidence, of zero self-worth, they made me feel like I fit in.  They didn't care that I wore the "wrong" jeans.  They knew that when I said "I don't know" when asked where I got my sweater, it meant I got it at K-Mart and they didn't care.  They didn't care that I was "brown".  They just didn't care about any of that and THAT made all the difference in the world!  They will never know how much I owe them for seeing past my "faults".  

And so here is Me, Pat and Tracy in 1986...Julie and Mary had moved away.

And here we are 30 years later...well, Mary came back and I bet Pat wishes she had made the trek!!

It was like time had never passed!!  We were young, carefree, and just full of ourselves!!  I laughed SO hard my throat and abs hurt for two days afterwards!!  It was just a great time.  The only difference was that when the music started to play and the booze was flowing a little more freely, the dance floor was packed.  But I tell ya, we were forever young that night, and the night before, and the day after.  

There were plenty of people there that I "knew" in high school but didn't really talk to.  There were people there that I never spoke to in high school and now we are really good friends.  Heck, there were people there who I didn't even know knew my name in high school that STILL remember me!!  And then there was that one blonde lady who wasn't wearing a name tag that kept coming up to me telling me how I was her hero and that she loved me.  I had no idea who she was.  No one did.  It wasn't until the end of the night and she told us we didn't know her.  She just crashed the reunion.  Oh my Lord, did we laugh HARD!!

Here are some of my favorite pics from the weekend:

I love my friends!  I love my class!  It was a great weekend reminiscing, laughing and loving!!  Can't wait until the next one!!  Until then SCHS of 1986...stay Forever Young!!!

With A Little Help From My Friends

What would you think if I sang out of tune?

Would you stand up and walk out on me?

Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song

And I'll try not to sing out of key.

I get by with a little help from my friends

I get high with a little help from my friends

Gonna try with a little help from my friends

So, another year has come and gone.  2015 wasn't a great year but it wasn't all that bad either.  It's been rough, it's been numbing but it has also been incredibly fun and loving.  None of this would have been possible for me without my friends.

I have a great collection of friends that span the country and the globe.  I have known some for over 35 years and some for only a few short months.  But each of them have lifted me up from the depths of my despair or provided a much needed buoy to keep me from drowning and it is likely that they are completely unaware of how they have helped me.

Let me tell you about my friends.  I have friends that I have met at the various hospitals where I had an assignment.  Denise from New York, Becky and Tamika from South Carolina, Nathan and Courtney from Pennsylvania, Dawn and Cassie from Texas and Launa and Margarita from California just to mention a few.  I have fellow consultants from throughout my travels--Veronica, Steve, Caroline, Kathy, Julie, and Gloria.  I have my high school friends--Tracy, Carolyn, Marti, Tim, and Kelly.  I have my cruise friends--Frank, Kyle, Cole, Elise, Aaron and Randall.  I have my BYU friends--Joan, Kalee, Liz, and David.  I have my Arizona friends--Heather, Shellie, Ruston and Joel.  I have my Houston friends--Reggie, Kewana, Nancy and Cathy.  I have my poker friends--Kris, Bridgit, Romy and Lisa.  I have my family--Amelia, Crystal, Winda, Becca, Annie, Christie and Sam.  I have my best friends--Michelle, Christina, Albert and Brigett.  These are just a few that came to mind as I was typing.

I am truly blessed with the number of friends that love me and that I love right back.  Facebook has helped me keep up with just about everyone and for that, I am forever grateful.  I am the WORST about keeping in touch.  I don't even talk to my mom every week.  

My friends along with my family and Wyatt are my lifeline.  In the past year, I have reached out and asked for help and have received it without fail from my friends.  I have also received private messages and texts out of the blue from friends that were blessings and gave me hope when I needed it most.  The words of love and encouragement stay with me every day.  When my days get dark and long, those words are what I cling to.

There are friends who make me laugh with their posts and/or comments.  Friends who make me appreciate what I have and who I am with the quotes they post.  There are my friends with dogs whose pictures make my heart melt.  There are friends who educate me with their thoughts and opinions.  There are the friends who make me shake my head and wonder why their hearts are filled with such anger.  And the friends who make me laugh and smile with all the fun they are having living their lives.

Thank you to each of you!!  All 600+ Facebook friends and all the rest of my circle.  You inspire me.  You strengthen me.  You encourage me.  You help me.  Truly, this past year was the year of friends.  I got by with a little help from all of you.  Just because I didn't name you, doesn't mean this isn't about you.  I could list countless examples of how you have helped me in this past year.  I remember what you did and some day will repay you.  

I say I love you a lot.  And I really mean it.  My heart is filled with love and gratitude for each of my friends.  You mean a lot to me and if there should ever come a time that you need me, I will be here for you as you have been there for me.  

I love you!!  Always!!