Happy Anniversary to Us.........

Today I woke up to a phone call and a card by my bed. It was Kent calling to wish me a happy anniversary. We met on St.Patrick's day, 1995. If someone would have told me back then that the cute boy sitting with his friends that night at the bar would be my husband someday, I would have said," NO WAY." But here we are celebrating our 9 year anniversary, 13 years later. I remembered standing by my friend as she turned to me to say, " don't even look at him, you can tell that he is really stuck on himself and even his nose is perfect." Words that she would come to regret later. I wish I could tell you that our lives would read like a fairytale, but that's not the case. I can be very difficult at times, I know those of you that are reading this wouldn't believe this, but it's true. At times you can even say that I can act almost crazy. Kent and I have had a lot of disappointments in our lives and along the way have learn to depend and lean on each other.

He came home from work semi early, so we had decided to go to Latinis for a nice dinner. It is a very posh place. The music was great and the food was even better. Then after dinner it was off to Hyperama wholesale. I had only been there once and I wanted to check it again. That's it, that's what we did for our anniversary....really.

Kent wanted to take the day off so maybe we could spend the day in London, but it's still is a little to cold for me to be walking around. Since I am anemic, I feel pain when it is cold outside. It actually hurts to be cold. Last April I was hospitalized due to a lack of blood. I went in for a check-up because I couldn't walk up the stairs without having to sit to catch my breath or even walk out to the mailbox without my heart racing. When I went in the Doctor, he could tell right away that something wasn't right and I could tell that the news was going to be bad. So he did some blood work and said he'd call me later. They never ever call you later, it's always the next week. I prayed that whatever it was , I was going to be okay and that God would take care of me. About 5 hrs later, he called and was freaking out! He could not believe that I was actually walking around and couldn't figure out why I hadn't passed out or had a heart attack. Later that same day he had me check into St. Frances hospital. when the nurse saw my blood count she thought surely there had been a huge mistake and order another blood count ASAP. Everyone should have a blood count of 12-15 which is considered normal. At an 8 they said you should be in critical condition in the ICU somewhere and likely unconscious. I walked in at a level of 4.7. I was missing 2/3 of my body's blood, no kidding. God was watching over me and must have been for a very long time. A person cannot lose that much blood and still survive unless they lose it slowly over a long long period of time. My blood doctor actually came up to me during my colonoscopy and said, " so your the one, that's very impressive." I was so scared, they thought I might have had Leukemia or something. I knew that something was not quite right about how I was feeling and should have done something about it sooner. I had to get 4 units of blood, which only brought my blood count to a level of 10. My body was so pale and my nails were so brittle, all I wanted was to feel good again. The scary thing is that they're not sure where my blood is going. They think that my body may not be making enough. Three days after I was released from the hospital, Kent left for England. He returned home on a Thursday, and we were asked to move on Friday. I had lost my younger bother a few months earlier and I hadn't been the same since. Kent and I had discussed it and decided that maybe I was ready for a change. Larry wasn't sick or suffering from any illness, he went to bed on the night of Oct.7 of 2006 and never woke up the next morning. I had a lot of regrets after his death and wished that I would have spent more time with him. So, yeah, I was sort of ready for a change. Be careful of what you wish for, right?

That leads me to my next story. So there I was in England and I was miserable. I thought I would have to leave Kent, really. I couldn't see this ever working out for me. I love him, but I couldn't do this and I hated being here. The ISE's are nice, but I wanted my old friends and family back. I have never needed a lot of friends, just good friends that I could count on. So, why should I try and put myself out there? I had heard that they've been talking about me already anyway so what would be the point? It's really hard at first because you do feel like you are all alone and that no one really cares. I had a good life back in the states, sure it was pretty monotonous, but for the most part I was pretty happy. There were days here that I found everything wrong about this country. Kent couldn't do anything right, after all he's the reason why I'm here. Why don't they have a garbage disposal and my frig is about the size of the dorms frig? What's that all about? I had to go out after one night to buy a air conditioner unit that sits on the floor with a tube that hangs out the window.... what? Okay, so they drive on the wrong side of the road. If that isn't bad enough, the roads are narrower and whoever designed them might have been drunk because the streets are not straight. Trust me!!! Then I get a knock at the door, the man standing there is asking me for the catalog that he stuck inside my door several day ago. He actually wanted it back! That would have been fine if I hadn't thrown it away days earlier. I could go on and on.... I could justify my actions and mood swings. And poor Kent...he was almost scared of me. At times he has had to buy my sanity.

Here I am 7 months later... I have met an amazing bunch of women that share my story and they get it. I started going to our Christian book club and asked God to help me with my frustration and pain. After all, several months earlier he did take care of me. Slowly but surely I've gotten to know some of the women here and actually started enjoying my time here in England. The group pictured above are my support and I thank God every day for them. Kent comforts me, but these girls give me strength to be more open minded to try new things and visit different places. I came from Midwestern Ill., what else would you expect? Jenny, Holli, Amy, Stacey, Corrina, Tara, and Tina, they are the ones that help pass the time while Kent is working ... it seems like he is always working. The other women here are also amazing and I have enjoyed getting to know them just as much. I know when I look back on this experience, I will be amazed at how fast time just passes by and that I was truly blessed to have shared this experience with this amazing bunch of women that I now call my friends. The ISE's are a fun bunch.

I want my friends at home to know that even though I haven't been calling as much that I love them still the same. People will always come and go in our lives and some friends are for the moment or maybe a season or two. My true friends and you know who you are, are for life. Even though our path don't always cross, I value our friendship more than ever. In the end Kent will always be my best friend, so ....Happy Anniversary to me.