Thank you Nick

You know how there are some people in your life you just click with?? Well I am lucky to say I just found one of those people in my life. And I just "met" her in person this last weekend.

I'm going to refer to her as KBL (originally from Afghanistan) and she has a blog (also in my links section, kbl2ord2san ) but she prefers to remain anonymous for family reasons. We met via someone else's blog and started chatting in the comments section of our own blogs. I instantly felt a bond with her over the loss of her golden boy Nick. Her pain was so real and raw and it actually hurt me inside to see someone (even though a stranger) go through this. I cried sooo many times (even out in public, still not showing my face in Panera Bread for quite a while) when I'd read some of her entries during the grief process over Nick. Now for those of you who will sit back and say, "Come on, it's a DOG for Pete's Sake, get over it!" Let me say as politely as I can, Go F*ck Yourself. I'm sorry if that's a little harsh for some of you but I lost my dog after 17 years and was told months into my grieving "Get over it already!" and to this day I will never forget how that person made me feel. I have also lost a parent and of course that is the hardest thing I have ever had to experience in my life but loss is loss and we all grieve and mourn for more time with those we love, be it father, friend or four legger.

So KBL and I started to exchange emails and again her vibrant personality and warm spirit popped out at me through her words on the screen. I would share some of what we exchanged with Tom and he kept saying, "Be careful, I bet you're chatting with a fat naked 55 year old man." and sometimes he would add, "who's probably touching himself." Yes, that is my husband, I'm so proud to admit. But I continued to connect with her on sooo many levels and always felt so comfortable sharing so much about myself with her, things that the majority of people in my life now don't even know. So I took my chances that a fat naked man was not at the other end of the internet waves. And come to find out her significant other had me pegged as a lesbian serial killer who baited her victims via the blog. So yeah, we think our boys will definitely hit it off and are planning for them to meet in the near future.

Our e-mails then led to a phone conversation and it was so comforting to finally hear a voice (a female voice!) and again get along so well. We decided to meet in person so she drove up from San Diego with her newly rescued 13 year old golden, Achilles. When I opened the door and saw them both standing there it was like welcoming a childhood friend who I haven't seen in years. She was so warm and kind and funny as hell too! We laughed so much and talked about everything and realized that even though we grew up half way across the world from each other and came from completely different backgrounds, we have so much in common. And I'm not talking about the superficial things, like taste in music or favorite sports teams (altho she is a die hard Cub fan so that didn't hurt!) but we have such similar outlooks on life and how we view the world and the relationships we have with people in our lives. Some of the situations that she has been dealing with in her life were so similar to things I have experienced that we both were able to understand each other so well and without much effort. To have one person like this in your life is a blessing. I am fortunate because I have many amazing friends who I love dearly but sadly they are scattered all over the country. And like KBL said it is soooo hard to meet good girlfriends, especially as you get older and even more so out here in Southern California. But being with her made me realize just what a true friendship is all about. And I've learned that things don't happen in life by chance. We were meant to meet, to share and to become friends for a lifetime.

Thank you sweet Mr. Triangle face for bringing your precious Mama my way!!!