Some weeks just feel longer than others, don't they? Even though there are the same number of seconds, minutes, hours and days in every week, some of my weeks feel as though they've hung around for months, years or even lifetimes before they finally end. Other weeks zip by so quickly that I find myself on Sunday evening wondering where the time went and how much I missed as the days roared by with lightning speed. And then there are what I call combo weeks ... part of the week creeps by, and part of it goes by way, way, way too fast. Take this week for example ... I felt as though it was crawling by at a snail's pace on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. But on Thursday as I spent the day with Matt, Becca and Coraline, the moments I had with them sped by so fast that I wanted to shout, "Stop the clock, God ... stop the clock so I can have more time with them."
I should have known that today was going to be a less than stellar day when Ollie the wiener dog woke me up at 5 a.m. because he was sick again. I groaned as I climbed into the recliner with him and lifted him onto my lap and said, "Ollie buddy, this is not the way to start the day ... something tells me today is going to suck big time." And I was right ... I don't know how many accidents there were on the interstate this morning, but I do know that I sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic for an hour and a half. And when I finally did get to work, I had a million things to do and felt like I was playing catch-up for the first several hours of my workday. But ... I also had a new employee orientation meeting with two incredibly sharp young women, and listening to their laughter and seeing their excitement about their new jobs lifted my spirits and made me appreciate anew the special environment that exists at our company.
Remember when I wrote about my friend Jim? You know, the guy who gave his kidney to his brother ... sorry, Jim, but you will forever be known to my readers as my friend who donated his kidney. But Jim is also my friend I talk Subarus with, and he's my friend who was a huge hit with my granddaughter yesterday as he tickled her and chanted some weird phrase that she found simply hilarious. So hilarious that she did the sign for "more" as she said the word, "More! More!" over and over again. And since I know many of you will write and ask, the phrase was something like "Chunk, chunk, chicken monk" ... I know ... a little weird, eh? Must be a Nebraska thing, I suppose ... probably a Huskers nursery rhyme or something. It doesn't surprise me that my little C.J. simply knew somehow that Jim is a great guy with a big heart ... I've known that for a long, long time, and my granddaughter is obviously an excellent judge of character in addition to being a genius.
This morning, I noticed Jim had a suitcase sitting next to his desk along with his backpack. When I saw him in the hallway later in the afternoon, I asked if he was heading out of town for the weekend. He began to explain about plans he had made to ride with another family to St. Louis to meet up with his wife and son, and how those plans had been delayed and he was stuck at the office without a car because he had hitched a ride in this morning with one of our co-workers. I live pretty far south of the downtown area where our office is located, and Jim lives roughly halfway between my house and the office. As he told me about his dilemma, he suddenly got a glimmer in his eye and said, "Would you want to give me a ride home?" And after a few minutes of conversation as to where he lived and how soon we could get out of the office, we shut down our computers and headed to my car so that I could drive my friend Jim to his house.
Jim and I chatted nonstop during the 25-minute or so drive ... about how he's feeling since his surgery, about our children, about Subarus, about the great group of people we work with, about me someday selling my house and moving closer to the office ... gentle, easy, friendly conversation. That's one of the things I love most about Jim ... he's so easy to talk to, so genuine, so real and so down to earth. When we arrived at his house, I climbed out of my car to open the trunk so that Jim could get his bags and he asked me to wait so he could make sure his garage door code pad thingie ... I know, there I go getting all technical on you ... worked and he got in okay. As the door began to rise, Jim gave me a hug and thanked me again for giving him a ride home and I said, "You're more than welcome, Jim ... I'd do just about anything for you, man." And I would ... heck, I think I might even give my friend Jim a kidney if he needed one.
Driving home after I dropped Jim off, I couldn't help but think about the special friends I have at work and how much they have blessed me, especially over the last year. There are people there who mean so very much to me ... people who help to keep me breathing, help to keep me trying, help to keep me hoping, help to keep me smiling. There are people there who hold me accountable, people who love me, people who cherish me ... people who know when I'm sad and go out of their way to say again and again, "I'll see you tomorrow, Terrie ... I will see you tomorrow, friend." So to all of you tonight, I want to say thank you ... tonight, I want you to know how much you matter to me ... tonight, I want you to know how you bless me day in and day out by allowing me to call you my friends.
I don't often mention names in my posts ... well, other than my kids ... but tonight, I want to say an extra-special thank you to a few of the many folks in my office who brighten my days and lift up my spirit. To Ali, for hanging in there with me, for not giving up on me or allowing me to give up on myself, for encouraging me to just be me ... to Lynell, for making sure I know every day how much you care ... to Hilary, for loving me like a sister through thick and thin and everything in between ... to Donna, for reminding me over and over again that out of sight is never out of mind with you ... to Rand, for the confidence you place in me and for making me want to be the best I can be ... to Megan, for teaching me that real friends never leave and are never far away ... to Raven and Sonya, for watching over me, for looking out for me, for putting up with me. And last, but far, far from least ... to Jimmy, my hitchhiking friend ... for teaching me what selfless sacrifice really looks like, for accepting me completely and unconditionally, for making me laugh and wonder and think and care ... for taking my very long day and turning it into a smile of gratitude through the gift of your friendship.
So, here's to friends ... real, true, lasting friends ... here's to hitchhiking along the journey of life together. I'm glad we're sharing the road with one another ... I'm really, really, really glad we're sharing the road.
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