A breath of fresh air (or My Blessings)*
You may (or may not) have noticed my absence. It has been an awful week following an awful few months and I had nothing but awful things to say despite my blessings.
One of these blessings is my wonderful friends who carry me through the hard times in big and small ways. I am so lucky to have such wonderful people in my life. They all give me things that I had not even realized I needed and they know me in ways I don’t yet know myself. I am so very lucky.
My dear friend Leslie who has known me for years knew exactly what to do to cheer me up. She sent me the DVD boxset for Dexter Season 1. I love her! I can’t wait to dive in and slowly catch up to current. This is so what I needed.
My amazingly thoughtful friend Laurie sent Addison the most wonderful gifts from Vietnam including this amazing Hmong tribal dress that we all just adore:
She also sent some amazing CDs of Vietnamese music so that I can play them for Addy at night and during naps (instead of the cr*p on the radio, full of commercials and junk). She LOVES them and has slept a LOT better since we got them. An unexpected bonus is that they are also aiding in my naptime meditations in a way I had not expected. We run those cds all night long on repeat and all day long too. We’ll all be singing in Vietnamese in no time, through osmosis! Haha. Thank you Laurie, from all of us! On top of that, Laurie has listened to me whine endlessly about the state of my life
My dear friend Missy picked me up when I was most down and told me those things you need to hear most but no one else in life will tell you. She is one of those people who always has not just advice but the RIGHT advice for you, for the situation. It is a gift. I’m lucky to have someone like her in my life. I try not to take advantage of it too often but there have been a few times in my life when I knew that no one else on earth would be able to help me but her. How lucky am I? And even though we don’t share the same religion, I find her brand of Christianity to be particularly comforting and she often has messages to share with me that I can apply to my own faith and life without alienating or offending me. THAT is a major gift.
My bestest real life friend, Dorin, took me away from it all a few times in the past few weeks. She let me drink too much and win at Guitar Hero for way too many hours during the Superbowl where she made amazing chocolate dipped strawberries and rice krispee treats - comfort food, for sure. I love you Dorin!
And then there are my online rocks - those people you know would be your best real life girlfriends if only they would all move to Houston (hint hint to those of you who happen to be looking for a job right now!! :)): Kelly, Chris, Nicole, Jena, Gretchen, S. (who is in Vietnam right now - miss you S~!) and the handful of other amazing mamas who let me lean on them recently.
Then there are all of you who read my blog, take the time to comment, share your thoughts and support. This blog is often the highlight of my day and reading those comments makes my day. I consider every one of you a friend and a part of my support network and you probably don’t even realize it.
And last but definitely not least, my old haunt in Michigan, my parenting forum that still feels like home. I get to hang out there, vent and whine and can count on endless hugs, support, advice and suggestions that have helped me practically run my life for years. This is why I can’t let them go, even though I live a million miles away. So obsessive is my need for them that I host the forum myself so they can’t kick me off! Ha.
Today the sun came up, literally and figuratively. I woke up feeling new, better. The fact that it was sunny and 75 degrees did not hurt. Today I felt like I did 8 years ago when I felt…well….great. It was a good day. Thank you, my dear friends, who have held me up and helped me to see the sun again. Hopefully we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled program now.
*just random photos from Today’s beautiful sunny day
February 9th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Hey Nicki, I don’t know what’s going on, but ((((hugs)))). I’m glad today has been a better day for you.
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February 9th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
That post even lifted me up! I can feel your sunny-day-ness all the way up here (I just wish it was inthe literal way as well)! Love!
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February 9th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Hey there, I’ve missed reading about the antics of motherhood from your end of the states. Sorry to hear you were going through a hard period. But, I am glad things are better and hopfully they stay that way!
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February 9th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
I hope the sunshine continues for you…. hope things keep looking up!
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February 9th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Friend-
Your post brought tears to my eyes. I know what it is like to not know if there ever was a sun, let alone if it’s going to come up tomorrow. I’m here for you- anytime.
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February 9th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Well it’s nice to see you back in the swing of things. Remember my offer still stands.
Oh, and if you can hold on to those clothes until the 1st, I can give you a little something for them and pay for the shipping.
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February 9th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
You don’t know who I am (but I do live in Michigan) I do read your blog. So I of course I don’t know what type of hard times you are going through but I thought I would take a minute to say that I was thinking of you (again, even though you don’t know me
I just read your blog and see your pictures and am envious of the blessings you have, and what you are doing with your kids. You seemed to be very blessed in many ways, and I although I don’t really know you, other than what you write in your blog….You sound like someone that I would want as a friend. So I am praying that times get better for you, and you have more ’sunny days’ 
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February 9th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
I’m sorry for all the awful-ness you’ve been going through. And I’m so glad today was sunny and felt better… I pray it’s the start of many good days!!
Take care of you… we may not know one another IRL, but I definitely count you as a friend!!
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February 10th, 2008 at 1:26 am
So happy to hear of sunny days and good friends Nicki. Keep your spirits up!
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February 10th, 2008 at 7:26 am
Nicki, I hate to hear that you’ve been going through a rough time, but I certainly hope things continue to look up for you. Big hugs coming to you from Petunia and me!
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February 10th, 2008 at 9:06 am
Hi! What a wonderful post! I’m glad you are feeling better, I was wondering where you were lately! Here’s another hug for you: ((hug))
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February 10th, 2008 at 10:25 am
Thanks! Today was sunny!!! I guess it takes upto 24 hours for the sun to creep 1000 miles!
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February 10th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Oh Nicki,
can you still count as my best friend even if we’ve never met IRL? You’ve gotten me through more murky days this past year than anyone else could have, and you’ve celebrated my good days as fanatically as no one else could have either. I love you rain or shine, but I am so glad the sun is back out in Houston.
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February 10th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
I’ve missed your posting too and I am sorry to hear things have been rough. Though of course different times and different reasons, but I’ve been through some of those dark days too and remember how awful it can feel. I’m glad you were having a sunnier day the other day and I hope it’s continued. You’ve got lots of shoulders here in bloggerland to lean on when and if you need them!
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February 10th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
Hey girlie:) Hugs to you. I’m here if you need me. Things will get better soon. Love you
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February 11th, 2008 at 1:03 am
((HUGS))
Missed you. Alot.
Will be praying for you and whatever you are going through.
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February 11th, 2008 at 7:19 am
Well I don’t know what is going on because I am so out of the darn loop without my e-mail–but I am glad things are looking up there and sending you lots of hugs and prayers with whatever it is! I can’t wait to come home and catch up!
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February 11th, 2008 at 11:35 am
I’m sorry that you have been going through rough times. It’s amazing to see that you are surrounded by such wonderful support, even those of us in bloggerland. I hope that things continue to look up for you.
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February 11th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Sorry to hear you’re going through a rough time. I’ve been reading for a couple of months now. I have a daughter the same age, also born in Vietnam. She has been home 5 months and I have been experiencing a lot of emotional ups and downs. I can’t imagine what it is like with 4 kids! Best of luck!
Carolyn
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February 11th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
Hey girl! Sending lots of love your way. I am here for you anytime, even though sometimes I am so slow. I have thought about you a lot lately and am so pleased that you have gotten some relief, even if it is only slight. Love ya.
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February 12th, 2008 at 9:50 am
I hope things continue to look up for you but I am glad to hear that you have those you can lean on when things get bad!
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February 12th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Love you too babe:)
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February 14th, 2008 at 12:22 am
Welcome to the world of packers and moving Nicki. One move we made the packers packed a half full bottle of coke Jim was drinking and an ashtray full of ashes(wonder that not everything went up in smoke. And the shoes were packed with the lampshades–and one room we had with a sign on the door not to enter or pack as it had Jims uniforms needed to call on the general when we arrived at the new post. So—-of course they packed it all and if I remember right Jim had to borrow from someone when we arrived And all the sheets, towel, underwear we had to wash before wearing as the movers and packers had not washed their hands in a year from what I remember.Much easier to do it yourselves.
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