I remember being a young girl, lamenting about some nasty thing that some "friend" at the time had done to me (pre pubescent girls can get extremely nasty!). My mother always told me that there are very few true friends in life and the rest are just a passing parade.
Well, as usual, mom was right! I've had a number of people come and go in my life (the passing parade), with some of the departures being very painful and unforgettable!
I was looking around on Facebook today and noted that a very charming FB friend posted a beautiful video on to their lovely wife's wall, probably because their wife may have recently lost a friend or somebody else and is feeling sad about it:.
Here is the video:
This video spoke directly to me, as it is quite applicable to my life right now and in the past! I've had some new friends come into my life recently and somebody who wasn't exactly a friend pass away in the latter part of August.
I ended up sending this video to a FB friend who appears to be going through a major life upheaval at the time. She seems to have these upheavals on a fairly frequent basis, with numerous people coming in and out of her life each time. I really wish that I could help her in some way. I hope that she can find peace, stability and some roots soon. She deserves it!
Just a note for anyone reading this blog or any of my other ones, I will not use any of my Facebook friends' real names in my blogs in order to protect both their privacy and mine.
I went to work for a half a day today and then headed down the street to pick up Angie so that we could make our way to Jordan's place in downtown Dallas. Angie and I had a very nice chat on the way downtown and got to Jordan's without incident. Whew, it was hot as hell in Dallas today at over 100 degrees! Needless to say, we gathered what we had in the car and got into Jordan's house quickly, where it was nice and cool.
Jordan looked very good today and is feeling much better than when I saw her in the hospital last Friday. I brought her some clothes that I've never worn because I have too many clothes hanging in my closet! She tried them all on and modeled them for us. They fit perfectly and look absolutely lovely on her! We enjoyed the fashion show!
Jordan's place is a good bit better than I thought that it would be. She has a nice Living Room and a decent Kitchen there. We had plenty of space to sit comfortably in the Living Room.
I brought her an AT&T Laptop Connect so that she could get onto the internet. I think she's been getting a little stir-crazy from being disconnected. Her and Angie are really nice ladies and I'm glad to call them friends! I just wish that our Canadian friend could have been there with us, but she's too busy driving her rig!
Angie and I headed back towards my work around 3:15 PM and I dropped her off at our rendezvous point. I'm hoping that we can have our "sorority" meet ups at least several times a month!
I'm glad to say that I got to meet another Facebook friend this past Friday. I'm going to call her "Jordan" in order to preserve her anonymity. I've been talking with "Jordan" for the past three months or so and several of my other friends have become friends with her as well. Her marriage ended last year after she accelerated her M to F transition. She's had some pretty rough times since, and just recently had her home foreclosed upon by the bank. I find this very upsetting because she had several people living with her who weren't giving her anything in return for their room and board. However, when she lost her home, none of them were around to help her. She also had her beloved car repossessed, so she didn't even have a ride to take her on her one-way ticket to nowhere.
I'm very happy to say that one of our mutual friends "Angie" (not her real name) was kind enough to go all the way to Oklahoma to pick "Jordan" up and take her to Dallas, where she's now staying in a duplex furnished by the VA. There were problems along the way, i.e. the VA wouldn't let her into the duplex until she went through mental and physical examinations and got her name changed on her military records. As such, she had nowhere to stay for several days, so "Angie" paid for her hotel room and food during that time. Now that's what I call a good friend!
"Jordan" had some health problems earlier in the week and had to be admitted to the VA Hospital, which is where I visited with her on Friday. It turns out that she's having problems with her heart enzyme levels and the VA is going to give her some medicine for that condition as well as several others. She ended up getting discharged from the hospital not long after I left and is back in her duplex. I hope that she can get straightened out and get back into life again. What she truly needs right now is real friends . . . ones with no ulterior motives. She's been used terribly throughout her life.
The way that's she has come into my life is a strong sign that I need to be there to help her in any way possible. This goes the same for all of my friends . . . lean on me, when you're not strong and I'll be your friend. That's the true meaning of a friend. Here's a perfect song for this blog:
The day that I started writing this blog was the 15th anniversary of Princess Diana of Wales' tragic death. I'll never forget the day that she died. She was such a sweet and giving woman! As I was writing this blog, a very fitting picture popped up on Facebook:
Amen, Princess Diana!
This said so much about how I feel about helping others! This picture was definitely a sign to continue down my present path.
09/15/2015 Update
The past few years have reinforced the fact that while it truly is a wonderful thing to help others, this needs to be done with some boundaries. First, the people that one is helping need to want to help themselves. Helping somebody who won't help themselves is just enabling them. It is also important to set limits on the amount of help given. Not setting limits is a good way to get used and abused. Lastly, one needs to watch out for entitlement issues. Anybody who thinks that the world owes them a living needs to be left in the dust!
I'm a bit ashamed of myself right now! I was so caught up with the craziness at work that I completely overlooked the anniversary of my dear mother Nora Reilly West's death! Last Friday, August 24th marked 4 years since she died. I also overlooked what would have been my father John M. West's 89th birthday on August 14th! Shame on me! Work is no excuse for forgetting important family dates like these!
I'll never forget the day that she died. We were on a Mediterranean Cruise in the middle of the ocean en-route to Athens, Greece and it was around 1 AM when the phone rang. It was my brother, Mark calling to tell me that Mom was in the hospital and that he thought that this might be it for her. We talked for a while and I asked him to call me immediately with any changes in her condition. He called back at 3 am to tell me she had died.
Her death was a bittersweet experience. Mom had been ill with Dementia for over a year and was deteriorating rapidly. It was so sad not to be able to see her again, but frankly, my mother was gone about 1-1/2 years before her actual death due to her Dementia.
Our cruise ship pulled into the Port of Athens a few hours after she died. We had purchased tickets to go ashore and visit Athens and my husband asked if I wanted to cancel since Mom died. I refused to cancel because I knew my mother would have wanted for me to go see Athens and all of the other stops on our cruise! So we went up and toured the Acropolis and Parthenon in honor of my mother! Here is a picture that I took of the Parthenon when we visited there on the day that Mom died:
The Parthenon
And here is a picture of my dear mother, Nora:
Nora Reilly West
Rest in peace, Mom! I love and miss you very much!
What an uncanny experience I had today! Back a few weeks ago on 8/5/2012, I posted a blog on here titled "Calling all Angels", in which I felt compelled to finally speak out about some particularly bad treatment that I received from a manager on the job back in Alabama in 2009. I held these feelings inside for almost three years and for some reason, they finally came out in my blog on August 5th!
Well, I was at my desk at work today and noticed that I received an email from a coworker who had just recently returned to Alabama. When I opened the email, I was shocked to read that the manager I refer to above and in my "Calling all Angels" blog died this past Friday at 59 years of age! I'm not sure how he died, but I gather that it was health related.
I can't tell you how much I hurt for so long about how bad this person treated me, and how bad the whole good 'ole boy club in general treated people back in Alabama! There were times while there that I kept hoping that I was dreaming and that I could wake up and realize it was all just a nightmare! I've since learned that this manager's ex wife took him for everything that he had when she left him, which occurred before he came to our team.
As I said in my "Calling all Angels" blog, I could tell that this guy hated me before we even met. I get the idea that he hated woman because of what his wife did to him and he took it out on me whenever he could. I gave it back to him pretty good, but he was such a prick!.
Well, I'm really glad that I finally got this off of my chest back on August 5th. I never really could harbor any ill will towards this person and I just want to let go of it all, especially now that he has died.
Rest in peace, Greg! I'll pray for you and your family every day, just like I do for my family and other people that I've known during my life who have died.
It's almost September and it's time to go back to school, which meant a new Fall wardrobe for Adeline. Last weekend was Tax Free School Shopping days, so we headed out to Kohls and Target to do some shopping. Kohls always has really cute things for girls and they came through again this time. We ended up getting Adeline twelve new outfits and four pairs of shoes!
Adeline did a Fall Fashion Show for us on Saturday evening. Here are the highlights of the show:
Pink Leopard Pants and "Hello Kitty" Shirt
Multicolor "Hello Kitty" Slack Set
Pink and Black Glam Set - My Personal Favorite!
Black and Blue Heart Set
Purple and Black Leopard Pants and Sparkle Shirt
Sequined "Hello Kitty" Pants Set
Blue Butterfly Pants Set
Rock Star Pants Set - Another Favorite of Mine!
We also got her a "Hello Kitty" jacket which she hasn't wanted to take off since we got it!
Most of her clothes at Kohl's were 50% off, then the cashier gave us another 20% off for having a Kohl's card, so we got 12 really cute outfits, hair bows, and 12 pairs of socks for $214.67! So now she can wear a different outfit to school for more than two weeks without having to wear the same thing twice!
After the Kohl's experience, we went next door to Target and bought her the black boots she's wearing in the pictures plus 3 pairs of shoes, all tax free!
It's so fun dressing up such a sweet and smart little girl!
A dear friend of mine posted this song to my Facebook wall the other night:
The song is named "Calling all Angels" by Train. It says so much about where I've been during the hard times of my life and where I'm at now. Whenever I'm experiencing rough spots in my life, I ask the angels to help and protect me, and they always come through.
Back in 2009 when I was in Huntsville, Alabama, I went through a terrible time at work. I started working there in the Spring of 2007 and things never were good as it was a "good 'ole boy" environment. It didn't matter how hard anybody worked or how good they did, if you weren't a part of the "good 'ole boy" network, you didn't matter, period.
Huntsville fell upon hard times after President Obama took office and sought to end the Missile Defense Program that I was working on at the time, just as he promised he would do if elected. Things started going to hell in a hand hand basket around Springtime of that year, when folks started getting scared that they were going to lose their jobs. Times like these usually bring out either the best or the worst in people, and in Alabama there was a whole lot more of the "worst" part coming out.
The back biting became unbearable and there was one guy on our team who was eavesdropping on everybody's personal conversations and then going to our manager and telling him what folks were saying. What a hostile working environment! They switched our manager several times within a 4 month time frame and the last one was a total prick! I'm convinced that he hated me before we even met.
All of this mess ended up in my getting a pink slip, which was completely devastating. Up until that time, I had never received a pink slip in my entire working career. It was one of the worst times of my life! My daughter sent me a beautiful Angel Stone to help me get through the crisis. I've posted a picture of an Angel Stone before in one of my other blogs, but here is what it looks like:
My Angel Stone
Every time that I felt overcome with worry and depression, I got out my Angel Stone and held it, imagining a group of beautiful angels surrounding me to keep away all of the pain and angst. I ended up getting a job within the company with all moving expenses covered as well as a big bonus! Thank God for that and the angels who helped me to get through that terrible time!
Wow, I've never put that experience down on paper or really even spoken aloud about it! I must have needed to get it out once and for all.
Nowadays at work I'm in charge of making sure that a large group of people get a complex task done in a short time span, which is somewhat stressful. I've been asking the angels to help me get through this in one piece.
Funny, this just popped up on my News Feed on Facebook:
A Sign from the Angels
I think it must be a sign from the angels!
Here are the lyrics to the song:
I need a sign, to let me know you're here
All of these lines are being crossed over the atmosphere
I need to know, that things are gonna look up
'Cause I feel us drowning in a sea spilled from a cup
When there is no place safe and no safe place to put my head
When you can feel the world shake from the words that are said
And I'm, calling all Angels
And I'm, calling all you Angels
And I won't give up, if you don't give up
I won't give up, if you don't give up
I won't give up, if you don't give up
I won't give up, if you don't give up
I need a sign to let me know you're here
'Cause my TV set just keeps it all from being clear
I want a reason for the way things have to be
I need a hand to help build up some kind of hope inside of me
And I'm, calling all Angels
And I'm, calling all you Angels
When children have to play inside, so they don't disappear
While private eyes solve marriage lies 'cause we don't talk for years
And football teams are kissing queens and losing sight of having dreams
In a world where what we want is only what we want until it's ours
And I'm, calling all Angels
And I'm, calling all you Angels
And I'm, calling all Angels
(I won't give up, if you don't give up)
(I won't give up, if you don't give up)
And I'm, calling all you Angels
(I won't give up, if you don't give up)
(I won't give up, if you don't give up)
Calling all you Angels
(I won't give up, if you don't give up)
Calling all you Angels
(I won't give up, if you don't give up)
Calling all you Angels
(I won't give up, if you don't give up)
I'm glad that you found your way to my Blog! I like to write posts here about my travels, current events, and my feelings about the people and things that figure prominently in my life. I hope that you enjoy what I have to say here and please feel free to leave me your comments. I would enjoy hearing from you!
