Thanks for the Tears, Mimi

This is what I received in my email today.
I teared up and I wanted to cry.
This reminds me of how much I missed my dad and brother when they were deployed.

I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight.
'I'm glad I have a good book to read. Perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought.

Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding
me. I decided to start a conversation. 'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me.
'Chicago - to Great Lakes Base. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we're being deployed to Iraq '
After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches were available for five dollars. It would be several hours before we reached Chicago, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time.

As I reached for my wallet, I overheard soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to Chicago '

His friend agreed.

I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill. 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.' She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked
me. 'My son was a soldier in Iraq; it's almost like you are doing it for him.'
Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, 'Which do you like best - beef or chicken?' 'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked.
She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class.

'This is your thanks.'

After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room. A man stopped me.
'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars.
Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he
walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane.
When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand, and said, 'I want to shake your hand.'
Quickly unfastening my seat belt I stood and took the Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.' I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers.

Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of
me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm. When we landed in Chicago I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars!

Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you some time to reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich. God Bless You.'

Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers. As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals.

It seemed so little...

' A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America ' for an amount of 'up to and including my life.' That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.''

I Like This...





I saw this drawing/vector on another blog and I was intrigued by it. What is there not to like about this portrait of President Elect Obama? It is artistic and the look of determination on his face is amazing.



The people have asked for change. And this the "Face of Change".



Whomever the artist is, I give him/her kudos on an awesome job.

She Brings Out the Best In Me

My sound board. My articulate super star.
The true embodiment of talent.
She is pure will power.
Her verbal assault is cause you to lose sleep for a lifetime.
She goes by the "holly" name of Kadisha.


My frustration. My late bloomer.
Her proscratination is like no other.
She'd rather be catered yet but so independant.
She is the family chameleon.
Will say what you need to her to. She will not lie. But she will fib. {laughs}
She goes by the common yet uniquely spelt name... Krystyna

My ear. My cheerleader.
Influences me to see the good in everything.
Natural flare for fashion and style.
She passes on her optimism & motivates me
She keeps me sane.
Oh Suzanna, I won't let you cry for me.

My emotional twin. My aspiration.
The apitomy of grace, class and humility.
Baring the illness and fatigue yet the true empathizer.
Ever evolving. Ever so fashionable. My Mimi.


The best for last:

My first love. My heart.
I owe her my success for the life she gave me.
I owe her my happiness for the oppurtunity at a purpose
I vow to her my successful happiness.
Sleep easy. I am.
Praise above praise. She is Momma.

{shrugs}

I spend most of my day trying to make people's lives more comfortable and/or manageable through their transition into another lifestyle. I am a legal assisant to an attorney whose areas of expertise are in personal injury, criminial law and family law. Family law is what brings in the overhead. When I say family law, I mean divorces, child custody, child support and all the modifications that come with that. I can honestly say that what we do here makes a difference. But what we cannot offer are miracles. Even though the attorney makes it look like they are his special miracles for his clients.

I sometimes wish that people would walk in our shoes for a brief moment and understand that even though we might seem a bit "nonchalant" but we always care. People tend to feed off others energy so we keep calm, level headed and we keep our eyes on the ultimate picture... To get you what you deserve. Mind you, not what you think you deserve. What you might think is fair may not be what the judge orders or what is legal.

With all that being said, I want everyone that happens to come across my blog post to know that even though we may not shed tears for you, please know that when we go home at night we are thinking and sometimes worried for you. We are not robots. We just keep that strong armor on so you can make it to the end with us. ♥