Feb 18, 2011

Just Call Me Rosie


Do you think that sometimes God plants little things in our lives and secretly laughs to himself knowing that 10 years later we may look back on the rare, insignificant coincidence and just think "hmm"?? In high school I went on a band trip to Washington DC and in one of our Smithsonian tours I got a metal lunch box with the image of Rosie the Riveter on the front with the phrase "We Can Do It". Being no history buff in any way I didn't know much about the poster or the phrase, I just liked the picture of the girl showing off her buff muscles (at one point in time I had really nice arm muscles...they are still in there I think, just can't see them) I also like weird/unique purses so I bought the lunch box to use as a purse and to show off my muscles. Had no idea it had any sort of relation or foreshadowing into my future.

But my first words to my son this morning as I walked out of the airport were "we can do it little bear, we can do it" We will have lots of fun while daddy is away, we'll send him lots of pictures and love and before we know it we'll be driving back up to this very airport to hug him again.

He was unphased, though, and made my ride away from DIA far more enjoyable than it would have been had I been alone. He was laughing and chatting and shaking his head from side to side. He had a blast at the airport and was loving all of the attention from Austin's fellow deployers. He was climbing around the bags, playing peekaboo, grabbing their legs - he was the center of everyone's attention while everyone was trying to ignore the woman at the baggage counter who was trying to charge them each $200 for their bags being overweight.

I got to work right around 8:00 and people looked at me like I was nuts. Lots of people asked me why I was here so early, or why I was here at all. I just wanted to say "I'm Rosie, dude. I don't need to sit at home and cry in my ice cream, I need to get back to the factory that is Western Union and get back to work" . Miss Kim and I talked a little bit this morning about how good it is to be busy, especially at the beginning, and I honestly don't know if I've ever been more thankful to be employed than I am right now.

God must really think my life is here for his comical pleasure, though, because this morning I also found out that someone very close to me has cancer. My mom said to me, "I just had this dumb belief that because your dad died we were done with cancer. I know it was dumb but I did." But honestly, in a way, I did too. I feel like we paid our dues. We did our part, we had our battle - our family went through hell and in the end we didn't win the fight. So shouldn't it forever be someone else's turn? Apparently not. Apparently we get another go-round. The worst part is, the person who has cancer and that person's immediate family were SUCH a wonderful support for me when my dad was sick and I don't even know what I can do on this end. I don't know how I can be as much of a help to them as they were to me, and I don't know how to even face it all.

But, maybe it's better to be slapped in the face all in one day. Maybe it makes things easier. Given my 4:30 trip to the airport and then the saddening news I received afterwards, I doubt you could make it any worse. So take a free pass. If there's something you've been wanting to tell me like how I wasn't there for you when you needed it or I stole your thunder on your wedding day or I never returned those adorable shoes I borrowed senior year of college and you still resent me for it - tell me today. Lay it all out there today. That way I only have to flex my muscles, put on my red bandanna and don the tough face saying, "We Can Do it".

I'll save the crying in the ice cream for when Blue Bell arrives.

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