Gratitude

Fourteen years ago today, the world was forever changed by the attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Center. So many innocent men and women lost their lives, both those who went to work that day and those responded to the crisis. I will always have the utmost respect for those brave individuals.

On this September 11, I am again grateful. Yesterday my aunt and uncle were evacuated from their home on Pine Bark Drive off Jesus Maria Road in Calaveras County. Today, we heard they have likely lost their home.

It could have been much worse. They hadn’t planned on leaving.

Usually, the cooler weather at night abates the flames. And their home was on the downhill side of the fire, which usually makes for slower progression. The thought they could safely wait out the night.

An official came to the door and told them they had 30 minutes to get their things and flee. Annie was able to rescue her two cats, irreplaceable family photo albums, and an Indian rug from Arizona. She left all the lights on and the doors unlocked as they drove away. In the distance, the sound of propane tanks exploding sounded like bombs. As they passed the fire station, Annie noticed they too were packing up and pulling out.

While losses won’t be confirmed until the Damage Assessment teams can safely begin evaluations of damaged and destroyed structures, it’s not looking good. CalFire is updating maps of the affected zones and a significant area around their home appears to have been engulfed. The insurance company has already contacted her and is sending an initial compensation payment.

Mom and I performed our own reconnaissance, independently we both attempted to call their home phone which rang and rang and rang before disconnecting.

I can’t help thinking that if the fire safety personnel hadn’t gone door-to-door, Carina and I might have gotten a very different update from mom today. There are families who won’t be as lucky as ours. One of Anne and John’s good friends decided not to evacuate and his fate is unknown.

Tonight, I am overcome with gratitude for the many firefighters, police, and military service people who put their lives on the line against the many threats we face. It is because of them that so many of us can live our lives, safely going to work, the grocery store, and even to bed at night. I cannot help feeling incredibly thankful that Anne and John are safe in Modesto. They will hug their grandchildren, snuggle their kitties, and see the sunrise tomorrow.

Unconditional Love

The amazing things about dogs is how much they teach you about love.  Hunter came into my life and everything changed.  For the first time, there was this precious (and precocious) little guy depending entirely on me for his well-being.  

Yes, it's a lot more responsibility than I've ever had before, but all the late night and early morning walks are more than worth it.  I just love, love, love having him in my life.  Oh man, I am so thankful.

But the best thing about puppies?  Is they way they love us.  

Hunter follows me around the house and watches my every move.  When Sam is overnight at the hospital, Hunter is my little protector on high-alert at any strange noise.  He is content to snuggle on the couch watching movies, or be dragged along (and eventually carried) on a hike with ocean-views.  Above all things:

This little guy loves UNCONDITIONALLY with his whole being.

And I love him too.  Unconditionally.

Love for Boston

This morning I was thinking good thoughts for my fitness mentor, personal trainer and (above all else) friend, Amanda, as she competed in the Boston Marathon.  I was so proud of her for overcoming the health obstacles she has faced during her training and was so impressed she had made the qualifying time.  Little did I know that a few short hours later I would be hearing harrowing reports of explosions near the finish line and wonder if she was one of the victims.

I am lucky to count the number of times I have really been worried about a friend's life on one hand.  Today, as I heard reports about the injured runners and spectators, I immediately thought of Amanda and her family.  I pulled up Facebook to check if she'd posted anything since the explosions and was preparing to send her a text message to check in on her when I saw on my newsfeed that she and her family were safe and sound and away from the danger zone.  Relief.  Completely and total relief.

I posted on my Facebook tonight: "I am so thankful that my Boston marathoner is safe, and my heart goes out the families and friends who weren't so lucky today."

After getting home this evening, I began pouring over the articles, images and video from the scene.  Nothing was more horrific than the video and images of the young man who had both legs blown off below the knee- his left tibia was exposed several inches where the flesh had completely been taken off before abruptly ending.  To say the scene was gruesome would not do it justice.

The thought that an 8-year old boy lost his life sickens me.  That child had his entire life ahead of him and thanks to the sociopath(s) behind this terrorism his bright future has been snuffed out.  How unbelievably tragic.  Just heart-wrenching.

Then there is this... the complete lack of humanity from the Westboro Baptist Church whose parish is threatening to boycott the funerals of the victims because they believe the bombings are directly related to Massachusetts's gay marriage laws.  WTF Westboro?  What is wrong with you!?  I believe in a forgiving God, a compassionate God, a God that would NOT kill an 8-year old boy because of gay-marriage laws.  It makes me sick.

And as I sat here venting to Sam about the horror that happened today, he looked at me and said, "Things like this happen all the time."  I was outraged.  I was offended.  And then I realized he speaks the truth.  Everyday Sam sees patients who have experienced tragedy- often at the fault of someone else.  Victims of car accidents, fireworks, stupid horseplay, etc. who watch their entire life change in an instant.  And many of those people are no different than the Boston marathoners; just going about their lives and then BAM- nothing will ever be the same.  Talk about putting things into perspective.  Right?  Makes my problems seem so insignificant!

So tonight, I am thankful for the health and safety of my loved ones in Boston and around the world.  I am thankful for the people who tended to the wounded and who sought to clear the area of other potentially harmful devices.  The ray of hope we experience in crisis is the humanity we see in the 'helpers'.

Belated Christmas Update

7 Rib Prime Rib = 15 pounds
(Twice as much food as 5 people need)

The whole family, Christmas Dinner 2012

NorCal Trip

Sunday Sam and I are road tripping to Northern California with Hunter for a week-long vacation.  It will be his second trip to our hometown and our first big trip home of 2012.  We'll be up North for the longest time since residency started.  It will be good to getaway from Orange County and get some perspective on what's important- loved ones!

I am really looking forward to seeing my family, especially my Mom's side.  I haven't seen my Auntie Annie, Aunt Kathy, or cousin Alicia since we had my grandfather's memorial in July 2010.  Wednesday I'm meeting up with the three of them for lunch and I'm looking forward to catching up!  I'm also really looking forward to them meeting Hunter since I named him after my grandparents on that side of the family. 

I'm also looking forward to having some free time to catch up on reading.  I am deep into the Game of Thrones books and I need to get motivated to ready book 4, which I've started twice and keep getting distracted from.  I also have a Facebook marketing book that Raleigh lent me months ago which I need to finish or give back to her, and about 20 marketing podcasts I would like to listen to while I'm driving around visitng friends or walking the dog.  

I will also get to see some girlfriends I haven't seen in ages.  Reunion time!  I haven't seen Lindsay in so long I forget when we were last together- she's never met Hunter so it's been at least a year.  In addition to that I'm going to see the Seto family and Jackie on Wednesday... depending on how the evening goes I may even be crashing at Jackie & Joe's place.  Exciting news: Jackie and Heidi were in San Francisco last weekend and picked out my bridesmaid dress.  I will get to try it on for the first time when I see her on Wednesday afternoon!

I plan on doing some work while we're vacationing- mostly just maintaining our social media sites and drafting future blogs, but I will also be on-call in case something happens.  Thank goodness I am very mobile as long as I have my cell phone, laptop and internet service.

Sunday can't come soon enough...

Black Friday 2012

Last year was my first experience with Black Friday.  My mom took me out to Fashion Island and we had a pretty good time- not a whole lot of clothing purchased, mostly homegoods and eletronics.

This year, Sam and I got up and too Hunter for a walk on Black Friday before heading to South Coast Plaza.  Honestly, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! 

We definitely had to stand in some long lines, but more often than not we just avoiding the places with the crazy lines and chose to shop where there were less crowds.  Here is Sam being a trooper in front of the three story Christmas Tree near Macy's.


When we got home, it was time for another new traditon: changing out the holiday decorations and switching from Fall to Christmas! 

Last year, I did this with my parnets while Sam was at work and he called us "Team Disney" when he came home to the decorated tree, wreaths, candles, etc.  This year, he and Hunter got to be part of the magic...

Or at least keep me entertained while I decorated.

First Sam thought it would be funny to put Hunter into the Santa hat.  Then I got the idea to put the tree skirt around him like a cape.  I was pretty sure Hunter was not going to be a big fan of Christmas by the end of the day.

Luckily he and Sam ended up taking a nap on the couch and he got a little break from our torture.  By Friday night we were sipping Peppermint Hot Cocoa with Peppermint Marshmallows and listening to Christmas Carols amid our decked halls.  Very festive!

Since we'll be gone the first week of December I wanted to make sure our decorating was finished this weekend.  By the time we get back, our first weekend home in December will be the 15 and that's already half-way through the month!  We will be busy with holiday parties and getting together with family and friends. 

Feeling Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving from our little family!

This year I am incredibly thankful for these two boys who complicated and enrich my life in ways I could have never imagined. 

I am also thankful for the friends who have become our Southern California Family.  Nick and Amy stopped by on their way to a family dinner, and Sohrab, Jenners, and Kanwar came for dinner. 

Having so many people to spend the holiday with certainly made it more enjoyable and festive. 

My mom usually helps coordinate the side dishes, but she and my Dad stayed in NorCal for Thanksgiving and this all came down to me.  For the first time, I made the entire Thanksgiving dinner without any assistance.  Would I do it again?  Absolutely!

I will admit the turkey was a little more dry than it has been in years past, and the stuffing could have been drier- but when all was said and done it was a pretty great meal.  And when feeding residents the bar is pretty low thanks to the UCIMC cafeteria, so I think everyone was satisfied! 

Most impressive, was that I had all the dishes in the dishwasher (which was running) or hand-washed and drying on the counter by 9:30 Thanksgiving night.  As Sam pointed out to me the following morning, I really did the whole thing- start to clean up- on my own.  I even found time to take Hunter on an hour walk and make it to the 9:15am Spin Class at the gym on Thanksgiving before I started cooking!

Perspective

Yesterday I got a text from my mom that a high school classmate of mine had lost both of her parents over the weekend as the result of a tragic plane crash.  Sitting at my desk, my stomach bottomed out.  They had been flying a small plane from San Francisco to their vacation home in Colorado and went missing on Saturday night.

I cannot imagine the horror of not knowing that night and the following morning.  I can only pray that I will never have to go through something like this. 

The Facebook posts ranged from several sentences to a single word.  All of them touched on the subject but most were respectful of the bereaved and did not go into detail with names until the below thread.  A girl I have known since middle school posted one word: Perspective.  Yes, Ashley, perspective.  A little too much perspective, I would argue. 

Today, I woke up thankful to be alive.  Appreciative that I still have two loving parents alive and well.  I am grateful for my friends. 

My heart goes out to Kathleen and her whole family.