The Bird

   The day of the bird incident will never leave my mind. It's funny to watch a movie about birds (Rio) and then find yourself rescuing a dying bird 10 minutes after you left the movie. I guess I need to explain a few things first.....
    I have two younger sisters, Meredith and Alexandria (she will kill me for saying her full name). I was about 12-13 years old when Meredith was born and Ali came not much longer after. I am protective of all my siblings, but I think because of the big age difference my sisters and I have, the protective role is slightly more "motherly". So of course, I wish I could give them everything they wanted and protect them from the big bad wolf ( so to speak) but obviously that is not reality. However, the things I can do for them I try to go full steam....maybe even too hard....I think you can understand what I mean after I explain the bird story.....
    This past summer my youngest sister Ali was in town visiting our dad. I took her and my father's girlfriend's son to see the movie "Rio". It was a really good movie, lots of laughing and cute moments. To sum the story up a domesticated bird gets chained to a wild bird and they are trying to escape evil poachers...and it has a happy ending. Well, we have left the movie, and I am taking them back home when we see a bird flutter with a broken wing. Our hearts all jolted and I let out a "No!" and Ali made a very sad "AWWWW" sound. (quick note, we are both EXTREME animal lovers)
    After I hear Ali's "aww" sound my heart just got really tight. I was sad for the bird but sad for my sister too....so I turned around. I parked the car, told them to stay inside while I went to get the bird..... did I mention it was on a busy access road?...well it was....so when the path cleared for a few seconds I took my chance to get to the bird. When we first saw it, it had two wings....the broken wing was completely gone at this point and the poor thing was moving everywhere. I picked it up as a car drove uncomfortably close (the people inside were looking at me like I was crazy) and I had the bird in my hand. So now I am like.....what next? Obviously we can't keep it, it is suffering and there is no way I could kill it to end its suffering...so I did the next best thing I could do, I called our vet, who happens to be family =) and she came to my rescue.
    So here we are....me driving with one hand and holding a bird in another. Ali is asking me questions and I can't think of how to tell her they will have to kill the bird...because it cannot be a pet and cannot survive in the wild with one wing. To say "living in the wild" sounds weird because I live in a very surburan like city but I cannot think of any other way to put it....so wild it is. Anyway, it is at this point I am getting upset because one I can't stand for any animal to suffer or die, but I feel like I am failing my sister (hence the motherly protectiveness). I want so much to make sure she doesn't get upset, that she knows that this is best for the bird. Silly? All this fuss over a bird....which I easily got attached because I held it in my hands and rubbed its' feathers with my thumb...which kept it calm...or maybe it was in shock??? I don't know, but this was not how I expected this day to go to say the least.
    We got to the vet and Jennifer (aka cousin Wennifa) came and got the bird. I went to the bathroom to wash my hands and as soon as I shut the door I let the tears flow. I cried so hard because I knew my sister was going to be upset...and I was so scared she would be angry with me and honestly, I was crying for the bird too. I wanted to save the day for my sister but could only take it so far. When we were leaving Ali asked me why they couldn't do anything....and I explained the reasons it couldn't be a pet and would not last outside...in the wild.
    The car ride home was very quiet...I took Ali back to my dad and she went straight to her room. (heart fell to my stomach) My dad walked me to my car and I started crying again because I was worried about Ali. Dad comforted me, told me I did the right thing and that she would be okay and of course she was.... I think it is so funny the way life gives us these little lessons. I am sure many will think who cares about a nasty bird? Honeslty to me though any living thing shouldn't suffer if possible, and at least I helped end this tiny bird's suffering. What I hope to have shown my sister that day, was that all life has value.

Friends That Last a Lifetime

  I have been told sooo many times that I am lucky to still have all my friends from high school. I am not really sure why because I don't really know what life would be like without them, but apparently this is rare. I am proud of our bond that has kept us all together and I am proud of all of our success. I truly believe we all contributed to each other's success and happiness....I don't know how to explain it other than my friends have always made me want to achieve at highest level I can whether they meant to or not. I cannot believe how blessed I am to know these girls, and be friends for over 10 years, truly amazing. This particular entry is for Jennifer and Whitney.



 Jennifer has been my best friend since the 7th grade =) we met at McNiel Jr. High and she asked to come to church with me....there is a joke that goes along with this story because I was kind of intimidated by Jennifer...I thought she was a mean "thug" type, which she  absolutely was not but it's so funny the perceptions we have at a young age. Jennifer always makes me laugh, she gives me honest advice when I am dealing with whatever issue, and she has never judged me....at least not to my face ;) that's a joke! I have always been jealous of her pretty skin and gorgeous smile....she has the whitest teeth ever! She is truly beautiful inside and out. I am amazed with what Jennifer does for a living. She is a nurse in the NICU unit at Baylor Medical Center....I may have screwed up the hospital name but she helps tiny babies have a chance in life. I am proud that she is my friend and I am proud of her hard work....and I don't care how much she gives me a hard time for losing my keys or phone =)



Jennifer and Me



  I met Whitney in high school. She is the textbook tall, thin, beautiful blonde. She is also extremely loyal to all her friends. She is always so thoughtful in everything she does. There was a time when my mother was having a Christmas get-together with me and all of the girls and Whitney brought her a cute Christmas mug with chocolate covered pretzels in it. My mom didn't expect anything because the treat for her was having us all in the house, but my mom felt so special and I remember being really happy because of the smile on my mom's face. Whitney is really good at things like that. Her house always feels cozy and she cooks and is a very good cook at that. On top of that she is an amazing mom. She has a handsome baby boy who is always so happy (of course babies get cranky but this little guy lights up the room with his presence). I love how happy she is and I am so glad she has been my friend all these years.



Whitney and myself =)

   The amazing thing is I have even more wonderful friends that I cannot wait to write about. Friends like mine have brought so much joy to my life. I am grateful, I am honored, and I am BLESSED.