You Should Meet My Sister

It’s been a pretty tough couple of months since I was laid off from my job. I’ve pretty much run out of money, self-esteem and the ability to laugh at myself. It’s become quite the pity party on this side of the road. I’m not apologizing; I think I’m allowed to feel this way. I was finally offered a job and accepted it here in the area. I was hired by Rite Aid as a Store Manager. If that doesn’t make you wonder about the well being of that company I don’t know what will. Anyway, it’s good to have a job and hopefully I’ll get that mojo back that I seem to have lost along the road.

There have been a few things that have gone on around here over the last few weeks that I feel are worth mentioning. I told you all about Jodie getting married. I think you can all imagine how much work goes into an occasion like that. Karen, the mother of the bride and my sister, worked like crazy to throw the magnificent shindig that a number of you attended. I think she deserves quite a lot of accolades for the good time she arranged for us all.

What some of you don’t know is what else was happening at the same time as the wedding. About a month or so before the wedding, Karen got a call from some people telling her that some folks from the television show “Extreme Home Makeover” were coming to town and wanted to speak to her about being the builder for the house they were going to build in the area.

Karen and Bob have always been big on the charity thing. The company has received awards for their giving nature. Hell, the house I live in was originally built to raise funds for St Jude’s Children’s Hospital. That being said, Karen was quite interested in helping out. As more and more information came in she started seeing how big of a job this was going to be. I know there were many moments when she just plain wanted to call the show and say she couldn’t do it but she stuck with it.

I have never seen the show but those that have will know what I mean when I talk about this next thing. They have this thing called a door knock at the beginning of the show where they surprise the family and let them know that they have been chosen for the “Makeover”. Well, Karen asked when the door knock was and she was given the date. The “Door knock” was set to be on the same day as her daughters wedding. Be honest with yourselves here, how many of you would have quit the show right there? I know I would have and I’m pretty positive a huge percentage of you guys would have too.

Karen and I laughed a great deal about the timing of all this but I don’t think there was ever a time when anyone knowing her didn’t think she could pull this off. The common response when people were told of the dual jobs Karen had going on at the same time was along the lines of, “ well, if there’s anyone that can get this done, it’s your sister”.

I use to marvel at how well my ex-wife would perform under pressure. Well, Shelly, you’ve met your match and more. Here’s a woman who, with her husband, is running a company and trying to keep it afloat during some of the most trying economic times of our lives, while also trying to arrange a large wedding for her daughter while at the same time gathering a huge volunteer group to build a 3100 sq. ft. house in 106 hours. Overwhelming is one word that comes to mind.

The end result of all this is the newlyweds are now in Hawaii on their honeymoon and the house was given to the family this past Friday but there was so much more to it and I have nowhere near the talent to put it all into words. You should have seen her in action. There’s not a retail outlet in the world that couldn’t use her organizational skills. Her ability to get all these volunteers to give their time and money to the house was astounding. Yes, she had a ton of help but they wouldn’t have helped if it weren’t Karen asking for it.

I was at the site of the house a bunch of times and she was like a buzz saw. Looking left and going right with barely a blink while commanding a group of volunteers who all deserve an award for their efforts. Karen was certainly at the top of the mountain of people who did this amazing act of kindness. You should have seen her…

Jodie Gets Married

I went to my nieces wedding last Friday night. Jodie is my sister’s middle child. She has an older sister, Kori, and a younger brother, Ryan. Either due to my lack of maturity, or their more mature nature, I’m certainly not considered your average uncle. That being said, I’m more along the line of their friend instead of their mother’s brother. They don’t call me Uncle unless talking about me, or introducing me to others.

Of the three kids I’ve always felt that Jodie and I were closer than I am with the others and I think she feels the same. That in no way means that I have any kind of problem with the other two and I don’t believe they have any bad feelings towards me. I get along wonderfully with all three but there’s always been a more, I don’t know, friend like relationship with Jodie. Even when she was a little girl and I’d be around she would always just come up to me and hop up on my lap or lay down on top of me when I would be on the floor watching television. Since I’ve been back in town we go to movies or out to eat or just out screwing around and talking. She knows that she can talk to me about anything and I’ve always been very proud of that.

Jodie’s appeared in a few of my previous posts as has her new husband Mike. I also consider Mike a friend and think he feels the same. I often, well not often but sometimes, go out for a drink with him and have done a few other things with him. As a matter of fact, Mike is the guy that I went to that racecar-driving thing with that I wrote about in a previous post.

Anyway, the wedding was at one of the local country clubs around here and it was very nice. The ceremony was held outdoors and the weather was perfect. The wedding party all looked great as they came down the aisle and Jodie looked like the royalty she’s aspired to since the day she was born.

It’s quite normal for me to get all-emotional at weddings and this day was no exception. It’s kind of nice being alone at these events as I can tear up and nobody else can see. I felt a little better about myself when I looked at Mike as he awaited Jodie’s walk down the aisle. I could see his eyes were just as wet as mine. It certainly wouldn’t have taken much to make him lose it completely and I’m glad he had the strength to reign it all in. Mike’s told me on numerous occasions how much he loves Jodie and seeing his face as she was walking towards him could leave no doubt in anyone’s mind. It was quite obvious that he had been waiting for this moment for just as long as Jodie had.

I can’t tell you how proud I am of both of these kids. Not only are they my niece and (new) nephew. They are both good friends. What better way to spend a day than to watch two of your favorite people make the commitment to spend the rest of their lives together?

Well, I took them both to the airport yesterday for their honeymoon and I truly hope they have the time of their young lives. I can only leave them with one wish and that is to hold each other close no matter how far apart you may seem to be. Also remember that UK (that’s what they call me sometimes) is here for you both at any time as are numerous others for anything you guys may need.

You’ve got a bumpy road in front of you both but they are bumps that are made much easier to go over if you start from the premise of just plain being nice to each other. I think that, for me, is the best yet simplest advice I can give you. Be nice to each other. It’ll give you such a head start on anything you ever do together.