Best Present

I'm going to preface this post a little bit. My mother has Multiple Sclerosis, it effects her brain and causes a lot of pain, which means she's on a lot of medication. Her disease often makes her child-like or distant which means most of my life I've been playing the role of mom or caretaker. So when talking about my mom to my dad or to Dj it's become a thing to say that my mom "isn't there", which is just a nice way to say she's having a bad day and her mood/comprehension/whatever is just not good. So when after I talk to her on the phone Dj can usually judge how good a conversation it was by my saying where she was "there" or not.

So yesterday my parents stopped by unexpectedly on their way through SLO and brought me a pie from Marie Calenders (a fresh strawberry one, looks amazing!) my dad told me they wanted to come back to SLO the next day to take us out to dinner for my birthday and to give us a call later and tell them what time and where to meet them.

I called my parents back a few hours later and talk to Mom, she's "there", we have a really nice conversation and then I get passed on to Dad. After a little talk and plan making Dad says Mom really wants to talk to me again. So we talk a little longer, she's still "there" and we get on the topic of work and how exhausting it's been lately because of various things going on there. And my mother, bless her beautiful heart, says in the sweetest voice that she really admires me. She said that she's never ever had to do all of the difficult things that I've had to do in my life and that she truly admires me for what I do everyday. Let's just say my eyes were just gushing. And after that I could tell that she was "leaving" she was getting tired and she wasn't going to be "there" for much longer.

That's the first time in my 25 years of life that my mom has ever told me that she admires me. I honestly have not had a lot of times in my life where I have felt like her daughter, in the traditional, mother/daughter way that I love to see and have felt with many wonderful women in my life. I know that I was handed a difficult card but I am so grateful that Heavenly Father blesses me with these tiny beautiful experiences where my mom is really "there" and my heart feels like it's going to burst because I feel so loved. Heavenly Father gave me the best birthday present ever last night.

I don't share this story to make anyone feel sorry for me. I'm writing about it because I don't want to forget that it happened. And maybe to remind anyone who is reading that life is amazing and gorgeous and worth every single difficult experience it takes to live it. Thanks for listening.

The Next Month and a Half

I've been really quiet on here lately but it's been because I have so much to be excited about and I couldn't share a lot of it yet.

I have lived in San Luis Obispo County all my life. I was born in Bakersfield and I consider it my home away from home but besides my first few weeks of life and a few weeks every summer since I was a tike I've always lived on the Central Coast.
But now, in about a month I will be following my husband in a moving truck all the way up to Santa Rosa, California. Now I know some of you are thinking, dang, that's a really quick move! But in all reality we've known about it for a couple months, I just couldn't spread it out on the internet airwaves because of my job. They had started doing layoffs right about the time I found out and Dj was quitting his part time job so I really just needed the money and the security so that Dj could focus on his last quarter and not have to worry. Here are the emotions I'm feeling concerning the move: sick to my stomach, over the moon excited, worry that I'll never make friends again, happy, heartbroken, adventurous, terrified, grateful, and like the most blessed girl alive. I'm not crazy I swear, I've just always wanted to leave SLO, I've always wanted to move around but I stayed here when my parents moved because Heavenly Father told me it was the right thing to do. See, He always knows what He's doing since like a year and a half later I married the most beautiful man I know! Only now what I've always wanted is here and I kind of can't believe it.

We went up to Santa Rosa Mother's Day weekend and spent three exhausting days hunting for an apartment, trying to keep within our budget and make sure the area felt safe enough for Dj to feel comfortable having me at home. We were blessed again to find an apartment, $25 under our budget and we didn't have to buy a washer and dryer, it comes with the apartment (which none of the other places we liked did). It's 2 bedrooms so there's room for guests or a baby or something like that. Anyways we drove over the Golden Gate on the way up, which neither of us had ever done before. Half of it was enshrouded in fog, the other had the sun shining brightly on it.

Now I'm going to brag about my husband, I know he hates it but I'm just so proud of him and the achievements that he sees as so "normal" and "ho-hum". The job Dj will be starting July 1st is with a company called Agilent, they do test and measurement equipment. They rented Dj a car and put him up in a Hilton with a full day of presenting and interviews. Well to put cut the story short they offered him the job before he even left to drive back home. Dj also will be recognized twice for being the most outstanding graduating student in his department, which means his GPA is top in his class.

Here he is holding his certificate. They honored him at the Madonna Inn Friday night where he and a date got a free fancy dinner, thankfully, he picked me for his date, hopefully I didn't disappoint....

 

I'm actually really embarrassed to post this picture, so please, don't judge. I'm posting this because I've had this dress for months and I've felt too fat to step out of the house in it. I decided to be brave so I'm posting this to document my courage. Thankfully our new complex comes with a work out room, which will I be using to get rid of the 40-hour-a-week-desk-job-and-being-a-student-for-most-of-it weight I've put on. I've hated feeling so out of shape so I'm excited to get active again. Dj really wants to train for a marathon with me....I think I laughed at him when he said it the first time but I know it's a good idea and it would be fun.

So here's a break down of the next month and a half of events for the Waldrons:
May 23 - I turn 25 years old!! So stoked! I'm still at the point in my life where I'm okay with getting older.
May 29 - 3 year anniversary! Yep, 3 amazing years, the absolute, hands down, best and easiest 3 years of my life.
May 31 - My last day of work. I've been putting Dj through school since we got married and I've been working as much as I possibly could since before that. This will be the start to a different life style for me, one where I can finally have the time to figure out what I want to do, what I want to go to school for, if I even want to go to school, that sort of thing.
June 2 - I'm getting released from the best and most amazing calling I've ever had. I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father gave me this very short, but very rewarding experience, I've learned so much.
June 13 - Mom and Dad Waldron fly in from Utah!
June 15 - Graduation day!!!! There are not enough exclamation points to portray my excitement over this!!!!!!
June 17-19 - Moving day(s).
July 1 - Dj's first day at Agilent.

Sorry if this post is disjointed, I'm overwhelmed with the blessings we've been receiving lately and with all the exciting things happening very soon.