Monday, December 31, 2012

A faithful friend...





A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter, he who finds one finds a treasure. 
Sirach 6:14
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On the 10th day of Christmas break, my trip home to Pennsylvania gave to me…
a visit to Reading to see my lovely friend, Lisa, and her baby boy, Liam.  On the way to meeting at a bookstore, I made a quick stop at one of my favorite shops at home.   
Pennsylvania Country Crafts is an adorable store with Americana décor that I love.  I found this cute bag (for $ 1 ) when I purchased the star hook and the birdhouse sprig.  I love the inspiring words and can't wait to decorate my new home with my old decorations from storage in under 2 years!  It just dawned on me that I will be done with NC in 16 months and 1 week!!!   
I also got a kick out of the fact that my car was the only one with snow on it in Reading as I drove from snowy Frackville to completely dry Reading!

Notice the ground has no snow!!
Anyhow, Lisa and I met at the same Barnes & Noble back in March so it was fun to think about how during our last visit, Lisa was still pregnant with Liam while today he was an active bouncing 3 month old baby boy I couldn’t put down…hehe.
Our visit went entirely too fast, as my visits with Lisa tend to do, and I was so thankful she made the trek over to Reading to meet with me.  Her words of wisdom always inspire me to not lose hope or to look at things in a different way, whether they be about our beautiful Catholic faith, love, or just life in general. 
Here is a picture of us from the Haiti Benefit Dance she organized and put on back in April 2010 since we forgot to snap a photo of us 2 during our visit at the bookstore.

Little Liam was a cute baby I so enjoyed holding.  It was wonderful to see how happy Lisa is and to see Michael’s (her husband) features reflected in Liam’s face.  I wonder what Liam will be like during his mom’s and my next visit!

Lisa was one of the first new friends I made when I started attending Young Adult Catholic events in the Lancaster and Harrisburg areas since there were none in York in December 2009.  Through our friendship, I grew in faith and was inspired by her story.  She also helped to guide me toward helping to facilitate a Young Adults group in NC and to eventually begin this blog (a few years in the making).  ;)  It is SO refreshing to have a fellow actively practicing Catholic female friend!  Prior to my involvement in the Young Adults group, I was practically the only one I knew.  The other Catholic girlfriends I had were married, with children, older, or not actively practicing our faith.  So Lisa holds a memorable place in my heart as one of the first Pennsylvania female friends!  Of course I love ALL of my friends dearly, regardless of religion, political affiliation, ethnicity, race, beliefs, etc. but there is something special about a friendship with a fellow sister in Christ.  Now, it’s funny to think that in NC, the majority of my female friends are Catholic!  I wonder what kind of people I will meet in the next phase of my journey once I graduate from UNCG!

As if visiting with Lisa weren’t enough fun for today, I got to end the day with dinner at Black Diamond with Patrick and my friend, Melanie, who made the drive up from Harrisburg in spite of the snow!  We feasted on yummy cheese balls and Absolut Mistletoe drinks.  Melanie and I met in 2003 or 2004 when she trained me at the Learning Source, a teacher supply and toy store.  
Over the years, Melanie and I have vacationed at the beach, attended Strawberry Balls, flash mobbed at a Revs game, Uncorked York, sipped hubcap margaritas in Fells Point, gambled at Hollywood, enjoyed Nissley Winery, gone on retreat at the camp I worked at in the Poconos, eaten chocolate in Hershey, almost got caught in a thunderstorm in NC, and gone out in downtown Harrisburg too many times to count. 
She is a loyal friend who is always up for adventure and getting together, even if only for an hour or two, especially since I’ve moved to NC.  Thanks for the memories Mel and I look forward to many more in 2013 and beyond!!







On the 11th day of Christmas Break, my Pennsylvania trip gave to me…
an unexpected visit with Thomas Mark, my sister-in-law, her parents, and her sister in Harrisburg as well as a visit from family in Texas!!  I hadn’t seen them in about 10 years or so..?!  We spent the morning in Harrisburg at Liz’s parents’ home enjoying a delicious lunch and play time with Thomas.


I liked this ornament that was hanging on Liz's parents' Christmas tree!
When Nancy, my cousin, lived in PA, I used to spend the night at her place with friends in elementary school.  When we were younger than that, I can recall Nancy coming to visit and babysit us in Delaware and when we first moved to Frackville.  Later, when Nancy had children, we used to babysit Ethan and Aidan.  This is one of the reasons why I love having family live nearby...we can share in the memories of everyday life and I hope that when it's time for me to have a family, if I'm blessed to have one, that I can be near my brothers to provide those same opportunities for my children and their cousins!
The last time I saw Nancy's youngest, Weston, he was just a baby!!  It’s funny how others get older as you stay the same age (ha!).  I also remember fun family picnics and celebrations at Aunt Ollie’s house in Port Carbon when all three of her kids and their families would visit with us.  Now, Nancy is in Texas, Bobby is in Montana, and Keith lives in the Philly area so it is rare for all of us to get together let alone have individual visits so it was a great and welcome treat to see Nancy and her three boys! 

Today also provided me a visit with one of my oldest and dearest friends!  Heather and I met when we were 16 and 17 years old when we worked at Subway together.  In spite of attending differing high schools, we became close friends and remain so even with her now living in Allentown and my going to school in NC.  Heather is one of those friends where even if we go for weeks or months with not talking, we are still able to quickly update one another on where we are in our lives and still be good friends.  Of all my friends, Heather is probably the one who thinks the most like I do….hmm, I’m not sure if that’s good or bad given hers and my overanalytical minds.  I know that I will never face judgment or disapproval from Heather as she really understands me since we are so alike.  I’ve always seen Heather as kind of my “big sister” of sorts since she was a whole year older than I.  ;)
There are so many fun stories that come to mind when I think of our friendship from our endless talks about boys in high school, college, and well, now (haha) to freaking out when the lines at Subway were out the door due to being so busy as the 2 of us busily prepared hoagies (I mean subs) for the hungry customers to the Dunkin Donut runs, to hanging out at Bloomsburg University one summer afternoon, to flying to Florida (for the first time) with her, to cruising Pottsville while listening to Ani DiFranco and Jimmy Buffett, to visiting Aunt Ollie randomly while out and about on Saturday nights, to standing up as maid of honor watching Heather marry one of my older brother’s best friends from childhood. 

I was sooo appreciative of Heather driving to Frackville to do dinner after a long day at work while her hubby tended to their 2 small children an hour away in Allentown.  I couldn’t help but think as Heather drove away from my parents’ home tonight, how fortunate I am to have her presence, acceptance, and advice in my life. 
On the 12th day of Christmas Break, my Pennsylvania trip gave to me..
some time spent with Monika in spite of the snow!!!  Monika, a friend I’ve known since 1998, when we lived across the hall from each other in Shafer Hall at IUP, braved the elements and drove from Bath to St. Clair where we met at a nail salon.  

We pampered ourselves with much needed manicures/pedicures and then proceeded to drive up snowy 61 in style. 
This was an interesting experience since the Dad carried on multiple phone conversations (via earbuds) the whole time and the little boy pretty much stayed by his Dad's side during most of our appointment.




Later that afternoon, we took in “This is 40” and “Les Mis”.  The first movie was so-so but I LOVED “Les Mis”.  I could relate to the character, Eponine, on so many levels…especially when she sang, “On My Own”.  I have a feeling I will be watching this movie again and again!

Due to the snowy weather, Monika spent the night.  It was great getting to spend so much bonus time with one of my closest friends from college.  It’s hard to believe that it’s been 14 years since we first met as freshman and sophomore in college!!
Check out this adorable Christmas gift Monika gave me…on Dusty Shamrock’s 6th birthday too!  How appropriate!
On the 13th day of Christmas break, my trip to Pennsylvania gave to me..
a relaxing day with the family after attending mass at my childhood church of St. Joseph’s in Frackville.  It has been years since I attended mass there.  It was nice being in a small church again.  There is something special about being so close to the main altar as the priest celebrates mass and feeling up close and personal to what is happening during mass, which should happen at every mass but is more easily obtained in such a small cozy church.  

This is the same church that I spent countless nights in the social hall in the basement at Boy Scout meetings for my brothers, the building where I hobbled up the 3 flights of stairs as a 5th grader when I was on crutches when attending school on the top floor, the place where I held the door for the folks who attended daily mass while we were outside for recess, the church where I watched my twin serve masses as an altar server, and where I received my First Communion.  Such happy memories of my favorite grade, teacher, and school (aka 5th grade at St. Joe’s!) are housed in this little mountain church.  :)

The day ended with my little brother and his puppy, Otto, departing for Delaware (boohoo) but I will see him shortly in NC when he comes to do Christmas down there!!  

The last surprise of the evening was when Nick, a fantastic family friend, swung by the house for a minute.  He is like a 4th brother to me and it’s always wonderful to see him.
After Nick left, my parents and I also continued our “sort of” Christmas/New Year's tradition of eating Chinese food tonight as we watched “Sparkle” from the Redbox.  I wonder if Whitney Houston sensed any parallels to her own life as she worked on this final movie of her career & life. 

So, after a whirlwind few days, I guess there is always tomorrow for getting back to work on schoolwork right?  ;)
On the 14th day of Christmas Break, my Pennsylvania trip gave to me…
A strange night of dreams that kept me from being well rested for New Year’s Eve Eve.  Yes, I awoke 4 times as I had dream after dream after dream after dream the night before New Year’s Eve.  One involved eating at a fancy restaurant in Harrisburg with Ashley where we tried to avoid two grandfather type men who kept trying to ask us out…not sure where THAT came from at all!  In another dream, Monika and I were on a college campus walking around in the rain until we got to a dorm where her boyfriend lived.  As we took shortcuts through campus buildings to avoid the rain, we saw some college students reenacting the story of Adam and Eve outside a dorm called, Malvern.  I guess subconsciously, I had Malvern on my brain last night??!! 

When morning came, I gave up on trying to get any sleep so was up bright and early to work on making revisions to my Portfolio Defense Powerpoint and my Introduction of the rough draft of my dissertation paper. 

I didn’t mind doing schoolwork the majority of the morning/early afternoon because I knew that tonight I would be attending Stars on Ice, the ice skating show my parents (and various friends/family members) and I attended for 12 years, in Hershey!  How did this come to be you ask?  Well, allow me to share the story with you!  
The one and only time we had on-ice seats at our 12th and last show in April 2010.
On the way home to PA from NC 2 weeks ago today, after many false starts (you can read more about that here), I happened to drive through Harrisburg right when WINK 104 FM was finishing up a commercial about a contest for winning Stars on Ice tickets the next morning.  I proceeded to text my brothers and many friends who live in the Lancaster, York, Hershey, and Harrisburg areas to see if they could help me win tickets by calling into the radio station at 8:10am the next morning. 
In spite of all the gathering of the troops and setting my alarm Wed. morning, it was 8:12am when I called the station.  I wasn’t able to get it on the radio since my parents’ home is a little over an hour from Harrisburg.  Since I was late in calling in, I didn’t even have time to turn on my laptop to try to listen to the station online via the website.  The phone rang several times before a woman answered, “Hello”.  This surprised me as I was expecting a different sort of greeting and I thought I might have dialed the wrong number.  I asked if this was WINK 104 to which the woman said yes.  I asked if they had already given away the Stars on Ice tickets to which the woman said that they would make the announcement in the next 90 seconds after the commercial break had ended.  I asked if I could access the station online since I was in Schuylkill County.  The woman offered to put me on hold and to pipe the station through the phone so I could hear the announcement that way.  She then said that when I did hear the announcement that I would need to hang up and call back to try to be the 10th caller and win the tickets.  I repeated, “Ok, so when I hear the announcement you want me to hang up and call again right?”  She said, “Yes, ok, let’s make sure that you can hear the commercial” and she tested the call.  When I told her that it worked, she said, “Ok, remember hang up when we make the announcement and call back and be the 10th caller!”  I eagerly listened to the commercials on my phone.  Just as the announcement for the contest came on, she took me off hold and said "Don't hang up" but I did because she had told me to hang up and call back as soon as I heard the commercial (through the phone). 

Sooooo, I potentially would have been the "tenth" caller and was mad at myself for messing up but not all was lost! When I called back over and over (27 times in 9 minutes...LOL!), I finally got through AFTER the winner was chosen. The woman recognized my voice and said, "Is this Megan?!" (she had asked for my name earlier) and I said yes. She said, "I told you not to hang up"....and I said, I thought so but I was worried I heard you wrong and thought I should try calling again. She said, "I was trying to have you win and well, let me see what I can do. I might be able to get some extra tickets for you but I can't promise anything. Let me talk to my Promotions People but I won't know until Wed. next week. Give me your number so I can call and let you know either way." 

Turns out that my brother in NC was caller # 1 and # 4, I was caller # 2, and my brother in DE was unable to get through as well as my friend, Nick, in Harrisburg.  Persistence pays off though because 2 days after Christmas, I got the call from the station that they had FOUR tickets for me!  Ironically, this was on the same day that my friend, Melanie, who lives in the Harrisburg area, and I had rescheduled our visit.  She was able to quickly swing by the station, pick up the tickets, and be on her way to my parents’ home.  Honestly, we couldn’t have planned it better if we tried!!!
After posting on Facebook that I was going to Stars on Ice, I found out that some friends of mine were also going so I looked forward to possibly reuniting with them tonight!  Sure enough, Heather, one of my first friends in Harrisburg, and I saw each other across the 3 sections of people just before the show started.  While looking for Heather in the crowd, I saw Terri, a mother of one of my former students!  I was able to connect with both women during intermission.  I felt old as I talked with Terri and she let me know that her son is now a freshman at the high school where I worked (I started working with him when he was in 2nd grade!!).  It was wonderful to see one of my favorite smiling faces and hear an update on how her children are doing.  After we finished chatting, I got to see Heather and her little girl for a second.  I first met Heather in Ohio at Cedar Point and was ecstatic to find out she was from Lebanon and worked in Harrisburg since I had just moved to Harrisburg at that time.  We quickly became going out buddies enjoying nights on the town in our early 20s.  Heather’s daughter was a friendly happy little girl who loved pink….reminding me of another special little girl I know!
























 
We heard Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful" on the way home so I pulled out the picture of Dusty in an effort to reenact the ASPCA commercials that have been playing non-stop!  Hehe.

 
Stars on Ice was terrific, even if I only knew of 9 of the 12 skaters!  It was awesome seeing Dorothy Hamill for the first time and seeing Kurt Browning again!  The last time I saw Ryan Bradley was when he won the US Figure Skating Championships in 2011 in Greensboro when I volunteered there.
The highlights for me were when the 2 couples skated together, any time Ekaterina Gordeyevea skated, and of course the last number by Kurt Browning that involved making it rain inside the Giant Center and skating to “Singing in the Rain”.  Seeing Kurt skate some of the moves Gene Kelly incorporated into the dance scene in the movie was awesome!  Another neat twist was that the first year I saw Stars on Ice was in 1998 which was also the same year that I was in “Singing in the Rain” in high school…how neat to be reminded of that senior year play tonight!