An Emotional Day

Ups and downs. Today was full of both. My amazing co-worker Shinobu, who has grown to be my best friend, is transferring to Abilene and today our department had a going-away luncheon for her and her husband. That was followed by a campus-wide going away party for her and one of my favorite instructors. Needless to say, my emotions were on edge. After the party is when I discovered that my friends in West Texas had left me happy birthday im's, myspace and facebook comments and even a voicemail of them singing happy birthday to me! That's when I couldn't hold it any longer and tears started to run down my face. They were tears of sadness because people I care about and admire are moving on to different phases of their lives but also tears of joy for the opportunity to know them. And how timely it was for my friends in West Texas to bombard me with well-wishes just when I needed them.

As if this all weren't enough, a friend and co-worker who was in a head-on collision in April made his first visit to the campus today. Although he's still in a wheelchair and has many months of healing and therapy ahead, just to see his face was wonderful. And when our President jokingly told him to stand and give a speech, he surprised him by raising up the footrests on his chair, standing on his one semi-healed leg and giving that speech! Truly he is a miracle!

Then on my way home, I got a phone call from my best friend from 1st-6th grade! We spent the next 30 minutes talking about old times and catching up on what's new. I'll never forget the day my father passed away. I was in the 3rd grade and Hildi was my best friend. I came home from the hospital, walked back to my parents bedroom, picked up the light blue princess-style phone on the nightstand and called Hildi. I called her because we were best friends and because her dad had died when she was still a toddler. Even though I hadn't even comprehended what had just happened, I somehow knew that Hildi would understand. I can still hear myself saying into that phone, "My daddy died today" and in her sweet little eight year old voice she said back, "I'm sorry." Hildi and I went separate paths as we progressed through the grades and have only seen each other once since high school, but you know she told me she still has a framed picture of me and her mother, whom she lost a few years back, and it is very special to her.

Thank goodness when my wonderful husband got home from work today, he had 3 - yes 3 - birthday cards in his hand for me! He had text messaged me earlier and asked what I was doing and I responded "crying". He stopped at the store on his way home and bought 3 separate birthday cards...each one having a cat on the front that looked exactly like one of ours! And on the inside, he personalized them all as if that particular cat had signed it. How wonderfully goofy is that?

So tomorrow is my 38th birthday. And Shinobu's last day at work. And the day before I go on vacation which means I have 15,000 tasks to complete. Life is full of ups and downs and on some days, the downs seem to win. But I'll deal with it and grow stronger from it - because that's what grown-ups do. And sometimes even eight year olds.