I don't know if it is a result of my blogging yesterday, and letting off some steam. Or if it was the evening walk with Tracy last night (much needed). Or if it was the blurry happy dream that I had last night. I have no idea, but I am grateful.
Actually, I do know a few reasons why I am feeling lighter today, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention them.
Planning this trip to Florida is bitter sweet and a bit stressful. I am a planner. I am a HUGE planner. I need things planned and in concrete before I can rest easy. We are just 2 weeks away, and a HUGE part of our trip had not been nailed down yet. I had been trying to get with our friend to make plans, but unlike me, he is a last minute kind of guy...even when he knows months ahead of time. *laugh* You can imagine how those personality traits mesh when trying to plan a trip. *laugh* Anyway, we finally talked yesterday and confirmed that he was indeed going to take care of that end of the trip. He may still wait till the last minute to take care of it, but now that it is confirmed that it is no longer *my* issue to plan, I am feeling much better. I know he will take care of it, and that gives me some peace.
The other thing I am grateful for is a very special gift from a very special friend. In yesterday's blog I posted about the Thumbies I needed to order. I talked about the financial "worry" with ordering them, but in my head my biggest obstacle was the finality of what I would feel when I ordered them. Though the financial "worry" was a bit heavy on my shoulders, probably more than I realized. Anyway, a very special friend sent me a message and said they wanted to take care of this for us. They had wanted to help back in November when we needed help moving and couldn't then but can now and would not take no for an answer. I am grateful beyond measure. I just cried when I received the message.
If there is one thing I have learned through all of this, is that I have some of the most amazing friends in the world. They come visit me when they know I am in deep emotional doo-doo, the amount of money donated to help Suzy and the family out when Nick died was incredible, the food brought to my family while I was away was a huge blessing, the belly dance costumes given to my daughters when they were so very sad lifted their spirits, the emotional support via the Internet has kept me moving, and I have friends that find things that will make amazing costumes for burlesque and send them to me. Seriously. I am blessed beyond measure and I am grateful for you ALL!!!!
So I had a memory of Nick the other day... and it has taken me all morning to bring that memory back up to share.
Shortly after we moved here, Tracy decided we would buy an old beater Toyota truck for Nick. They would work on it together to fix it up and he would have a car to drive. We bought it, towed it home. Then realized it just wasn't worth the money or time to fix it. It had electrical issues. So we junked the truck. A few years later, Tracy bought an old Dodge Ram Charger with tax refund money. He was so excited to own what he called a "bubba truck".
It wasn't long until Tracy needed to put a new engine in the truck. He ordered it on line and had it shipped to our friends house who used to be a mechanic and had the tools. Tracy, Nick, Cody, and I think it was Melissa spent a day working on this truck with our friend. It was Nick's first real mechanic experience. We had no idea back then that Nick would end up working as a mechanic to help pay his way through school. I know Tracy was frustrated with the kids that day (cause teenagers will be teenagers) but I also know that it was a great memory for both Tracy and Nick.
Of course, it was a few years later that that truck saved Nick's life.
Nick's first real car was a $500 Subaru wagon that he paid for himself. He bought it from my business partner/friend. It was a clunker, but he loved that thing. For some reason, "Smurf" (the blue Subaru) would not start so Nick took Tracy's truck to school. He left early in the morning, we were still in bed. He turned right off of our street and onto Victory Road. I have no idea what he was doing or why he couldn't see. I want to say that the windshield had not defrosted enough yet, and the sun was rising and his vision was blocked. But whatever the reason, he rear ended a flat bed truck and completely totaled the Bubba Truck. We got a phone call from Nick that he had been in an accident, we threw clothes on and ran down the street. He wasn't even a quarter mile from the house. We were a total wreck. But so grateful Nick was alive. Had he been in Smurf, he would have been decapitated. His little wagon, would have gone right under that flat bed. It was horrible. So grateful for Bubba Truck for giving us a few more years with Nick..... for giving us the opportunity to see him graduate high school, going off to college, marrying his high school sweet heart, becoming an amazing man, and making a difference in the scientific world.
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