The simplest thing has made me find my smile...
Ok so as everyone knows things have been stressful lately.. And emotions have been flying high.
Well in case you missed it in an earlier post, not only are my parents getting a divorce, but so are my aunt and uncle. Weird, right? That's what I thought.
Well my cousin Brett and I have always been really close... But in the midst of all of this, even though we're going through the same situation pretty much, we've kind of lost touch. He's planning his wedding, coaching, getting his master's degree... I'm going to school, volunteering, working on boards, etc... And honestly, I haven't called him b/c the obvious topic to go to would be the big D's, and I just didn't want to talk about it anymore..
But tonight I was watching "Real Time w/ Bill Maher" and staying in since I have to volunteer early in the morning, and my phone rings. And it's Brett and his fiance' Sadie..
And Brett and I start talking, and we start talking about how each other is doing and how we need to communicate more. And then he goes, "Well, Ali, you know that Sadie and I both love you very much, and we want you ask you to be a part of our wedding and do the guestbook.. I know that's not a very big deal, but we really want you there with us on June 11th..."
And I was so honored. I could be the person picking up rice from the damn cement, and I'd still be honored.
Brett has been like the older brother I always wanted. He always gives me the most shit, but he also is very protective of me. When Chris didn't go to our grandma's funeral, he thought of dropping him as a recruit for the baseball team. He was so pissed off... When I didn't even realize it was something I SHOULD be upset about. That's just Brett though... He was always looking out for me. Ever since we were kids. He'd pick on me with Tristan and Brandon, but he'd be the first to offer to play with me so I wasn't all by myself too.
In the midst of all this chaos, I'm just so happy that I have Brett. And that's what I told him... It doesn't matter if we don't talk for a week or a year, we can always pick up right where we left off. And we're always thinking about the other one.
I was just smiling from ear to ear.
And then April called me! And the girl who was so adament about voting for Bush a month ago, who sat down and had a calm conversation with me about why she should vote for Kerry, was at a bar in Omaha, fighting with a guy who was voting for Bush! My little baby was supporting my candidate! Because of what I had told her.. Because of the points I knew mattered to her. She won the argument, without even getting my help. By the time she called me to get back-up, he wouldn't even utter another word of his support. I couldn't have been prouder :)
So this calm night at home has been wonderful. There are so many things to smile about if you look past the clouds in your life.. Past the rainstorms. I need to remember that and keep that in focus more often.
Tomorrow I start volunteering at 8:30 AM then it's off to Des Moines to hear John Kerry speak. I'm so excited. I've had chance after chance to see him and obstacle after obstacle has come up.. But tomorrow I'll be there, with a VIP ticket in hand, to hear him speak directly to me.. And it doesn't hurt that Bon Jovi is performing and Ashton Kutcher will be in attendance as well...
Jon Bon Jovi TWICE in ONE WEEK?? I'm in heaven! :)