It's All Good

It truly was a beautiful weekend. The weather was gorgeous and many things happened that just made my heart feel really good. The fact that we had wonderful company definitely had an impact on my mood.

I started adopting soldiers through adoptaussoldier.org about a year ago. Our first adoptee was a match made in heaven. We have been in touch for a year now, even though she’s been back from Iraq for most of that time. We’ve had the pleasure of spending time with her over multiple visits. This weekend was bittersweet, as she will be leaving our local (ha! six hour drive) area to another base… in Hawaii, poor thing. It may be the last time we see her for a very long time.

She came to have a last visit with her adopted sisters and also to see me present a speech that I originally gave in May as part of my Public Speaking class. I asked her to attend on a whim, never dreaming that she’d say yes. And on Friday, she asked me if I wanted her to wear her uniform for the presentation. I don’t know why, but the question overwhelmed me emotionally and made me cry. I wanted to ask her to wear it, but I didn’t want to seem pushy, she must have read my mind.

I gave the speech today and she attended along with a friend that had come along for the drive, and Sugar. As Sugar is due to skate in her first solo competition next weekend, I thought it would be good for her to see her mom do something that makes many people (including me!) very nervous. Of course I feel like the speech didn’t go very well: every “um” echoed through my head and I know I fidgeted a lot. The audience, however, seemed quite taken by the story I shared. Sugar and Soldier Girl both crabbed that I almost made them cry.

If their presence wasn’t enough to make me smile, I smiled even broader that one of my classmates from my Public Speaking class came along to hear the speech again. She’s a wonderful person for giving up part of her Sunday to attend. I am blessed to have friends that go out of their way for me.

What is simply astounding is the very generous donation she and her husband made to my “Christmas for the Soldiers” shipment. They handed over two large boxes filled with a variety of items AND a cash donation to help cover shipping charges. If my heart wasn’t full already, it’s overflowing now. It’s not often that a girl can reach out to friends with a crazy dream of sending a “taste of home” halfway around the world, and have them all pitch in like it’s something they want to do.

I am surrounded by some very good peeps. I hope they all know how much they mean to me.

xoxo

Ice Princess