One Blessed Girl: What a weekend!

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! lol

I had such a fantastic time on my retreat, it was AMAZING! Lots of relaxation. Lot's of prayer and lots of time with God. So much stuff happened that is just between me and God, so I'm not gonna share that. However, I have gotten requests to share a story about something that happened over the retreat. When it was time to talk, I shared it with my friends who went, and they requested I blog about it, so here we go.

For those of you who don't remember (and I honestly wouldn't expect you to) my Mema passed away nine months ago. Then two weeks ago today, my beloved wonderdog, Lizzie passed away from cancer. When it was evident that Lizzie wasn't gonna make it, I was talking to God and said, "AND MY DOG TOO!!!" lol Saturday morning, I go to sit down to breakfast at a round table. I was sitting with one of my new friends from St. Jude, Evelyn Mishork (AWESOME lady!). All of a sudden, she decides to move from my left side to my right. Then, I notice why. A woman was pushing her elderly friend in a wheelchair over to our table for breakfast. Unbeknownst to me, this was where the woman in the wheelchair, Ms. Rita, liked to sit. Ms. Rita was amazing. She's beautiful. Dressed lovely, pretty while hair and always a smile....and an oxygen tank. As she wheeled up next to me all of a sudden, it wasn't Ms. Rita sitting next to me, it was my Mema.

Now, I felt the tears about to come, and my fight or flight response kicked in. I was about to get up and leave. But, then I decided, I didn't want to miss this moment. No matter how bittersweet it would be. So, I sat with my Mema and we had breakfast together, and I cried. A lot. My friends Evelyn and Sarah (Righetti) checked in to make sure I was okay (without words, of course). I was okay. I was having breakfast with my Mema. We had a beautiful conversation. Then, once I realized Ms. Rita was done with breakfast, I knew it was okay to go. But wait, there's more....

Sunday lunchtime, it's time to talk again. I had to talk to Ms. Rita! So, I go up to her friend and I explain what had happened. I said "I know you'll probably think I'm nuts and I am, but not as big a nut as I seem" and she laughed. Her and Ms. Rita have been friends for 39 years! Sadly, I can't remember her name, but she was just awesome. I was in awe watching her. Anyways, I explained to her about breakfast and why I was crying. I showed her a picture of Mema and she said "they look so much alike!" Turns out they're both 92! She tells me to tell Ms. Rita and so I do. I explain what happened and Ms. Rita replied "I wanted to see if you were okay, but I couldn't lol!" (b/c we weren't allowed to talk). Turns out Ms. Rita's birthday is the day before mine, July 20th! lol SO COOL! So, I got to have breakfast with Mema and make a new friend!

So there you have it, by request, my little Monserrat story.

One thing was really cool, this lady from Oklahoma (I think) came last year at the same time we did too, and when we could talk, she told me how she enjoyed watching me. I didn't know what to say, so I said thank you. I told her she should've been watching Jesus and I don't think she heard me or heard something else, b/c she said "thank you". Nonetheless, it's cool to know that I could bring a smile to her face.

SHARON!!!! MY SHARON!!!!!! I got to have dinner with her on Thursday night before we had to be quiet and got to catch up with her and Sandy her sister and my good friend :D All I could think of was how many conversations she and I have had over the last year. Either by email or phone, it doesn't matter. Time, distance, it doesn't matter. She is my awesome friend and such a gift from God. And, the cool thing is we're not just 'hello' friends. We, like so many of my friends, are spiritual friends. We talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly. We talk about family and faith and friends and our dogs. We talk about it all. That is such a gift from God. Both my Sharon and Sandy are!

So many, many things I wanted to tell you, but everything is now a blur, it happened so fast! Just know that if you are reading this, I prayed for you on my retreat :D I had lots and lots to pray for and I have lots and lots to be grateful for!

Here's a picture of Me and my Sharon, me and My Julie and me and Fr. Jose :D