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Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Thank You Paulie


As a parent, I think all you want is for your children to be happy. You do what you can, with what you have and when you can. You would you move mountains if you could..whatever it takes. But sometimes you fall short and the disappointment is almost more than you can bear. This feeling of disappointment was weighing heavily on my heart when I left home last Thursday morning. After declining the offer of a new home last year, my one and only regret was I wasn't going to meet the cast/design team of Extreme Makeover Home Edition EMHE for short. It's one of my favorite shows. Last week they came to Savannah to build a home for a local family. Bill and I volunteered to help and we were able to meet the design team...but my kids weren't. Madison was so upset with me. She cried on the way home. I felt like a complete failure. Thursday was the last day..my last chance to make it happen. Madison made a poster..an "I LOVE YOU PAULIE" poster to be exact. The kids and I are standing with all the other people who gathered to watch them "move that bus" ..while Bill is doing his best to get them a chance to meet the team. I was never really sure about fate or destiny..until now. Within a matter of minutes we were placed in a VIP spectator section. Still in shock over that...Madison has her poster..and who sees it? Paul DiMeo himself. He came over to her and she was so overwhelmed that she started to cry again. This kind hearted man took my daughter by the hand with my son following behind and gave them a personal tour of the home. When they came back, she was speechless. As if that tour wasn't enough he asked her to hold his camera! I don't think I've ever seen her glow like that. Her happiness was on the inside and it was showing on the outside.
My words can't convey what was and still is in my heart. How do you thank someone for going above the call for your child? For giving them a memory that you know they will cherish for a lifetime? EMHE gives people homes, they change lives. That day..the family getting the home weren't the only ones whose lives were being changed..my family was being changed as well. The bus moved and a wish was granted for the Simpson family..and with a hug from a kind hearted man my daughter's dream came true as well. Thank you Paulie....I'm forever grateful to you.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Simple Things



In today's world we have so many ways of staying in touch. The one that I use most often is text messaging. It's quick, easy and requires very little effort. I don't think I ever really gave much thought to how much a text could mean. I doubt most people ever really think about it when they're sending one. A couple of weeks ago I was at USO and I saw exactly how much a text can mean. It was a deployment flight going to Iraq and it was around 5 AM. I was standing behind my table waiting to help any soldier who needed anything. A female soldier about my age came over and asked if she could charge her cell phone in the outlet behind my table. I told her sure and she bent down and plugged it in. She said that she had to hurry because her fiance would be texting her. She said that every morning he sent a text when he woke up. No matter where he was. That the moment his eyes opened he reached for his cell and sent her a message. I smiled as I thought of how sweet that was. She plugged it in and went to walk away but before she got 10 feet away it went off. She ran back, got on her knees and picked up her phone. From a distance I watched a smile spread across her face. Her whole face just lit up in happiness. A happiness I knew came from her heart. She read the message and sighed. I saw her begin to type back. She lowered her head and I saw her wipe a tear from her cheek. She finished typing, hit send and put her phone back down. She just sat there looking at the floor with her hands in her lap. I could feel her sadness in my own heart. I just wanted to hug her and comfort her. But I didn't want to intrude on her. I saw her wipe her eyes, get to her feet and walk toward the ladies room. I followed her and she stopped to talk to another soldier. I passed next to her and without stopping or saying a word I put an angel penny into her palm. I gently gave her hand a little squeeze and went into our store room. I never looked back. When I came back out she was there waiting for me. She looked at me and mouthed the words "thank you". I patted her arm, went back to my table and stood there fighting back tears. I thought of how much every morning she will miss those text messages. I thought of her fiance reaching for his phone to send her a message...but she isn't there to text. It made me grateful for all the simple things I take for granted. Sadly it took someone else's pain to remind me to appreciate things before they're gone.