Monday, February 8, 2016

Yeah Baby! Yeah!

Today was pretty fantastic.

No, I didn't get a promotion. No, I didn't win the lottery. Well, actually I did, in a way.

We all take things for granted. All of us. Every. last. one. We take it for granted that the people we love will be there tomorrow.We take it for granted that we can simply text someone and get a response in seconds (or get really pissed because it takes them 5 minutes to respond...I can see that you read it a$$hole!!!!)

Life can be so overwhelming, and sometimes we need a reminder to really appreciate everything that we do have.

When I was in Belarus in December and January, I took my mom's old iPhone with me to leave for Alex. He has a very basic model (hates technology in general) and his carrier is new and does not have an agreement with any US companies yet. So, I knew that if he had an iPhone and we got him a data plan he might finally be able to text me. (I have been texting him through Skype for two years, but he could not text me back. Nor could he call me.) I gave him the phone towards the end of my stay and didn't have much of a chance to show him how to use it, or be sure that it was set up correctly.

Shit.

I just figured it wasn't gonna work. Ok, no problem. It was worth a try.

Then one day I had a missed call from him! He figured out how to correctly dial me and now he can signal me. I don't answer and then call him back. (It is not cheap for him to call, whereas I have 100 minutes a month for $20. Which is a good thing because we tend to talk for hours at a time.)

I was thrilled. Ok, so maybe he couldn't text me, but he could still reach out. Yesterday he said he had gone to MTS and they got the Internet working on his phone. (Let me just say, it's been a painful process. I was not prepared to explain to a complete beginner how to use an iPhone...in Russian.)

Everyone once in awhile I'd try texting him to see if I got any answers. Yesterday after he said he'd been to MTS I sent another message, but never got a reply. This morning at work, I took my phone out and put it on my desk like normal (I don't like to keep it in my pocket all day) and I noticed that under yesterday's text it said "read"!!!!!

WHOA!

I texted him again. No answer, but it said "read." I texted him a selfie of my and Jazz and then lo and behold A REPLY!

Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod!!!!!!

I kid you not, I was soaring! My heart was doing somersaults in my chest. I was so happy, you'd have thought I won that 1.5 billion dollar lottery.

I was telling all my friends the fantastic news. Most were very excited for me, but one or two were less than impressed. (At least it seemed that way to me.)

It made me feel kinda bad. All my friends here have their partners/spouses in the same town as them. It may not seem like a big deal to you, but you and your partner can text/call/visit in person whenever you want. I've seen my fiancé twice in the past 16 years, this is a lot for me.

Ok, maybe I talk about him a lot. Do you talk about your boy/girlfriend a lot? I'm perhaps overly sensitive, but I just wanted a few minutes to share in happiness with those closest to me.

Be thankful, all of you, for what and who you have in your life. Be thankful that the closest you can feel to being with your loved one is not simply seeing "delivered" change to "read" on your phone, and for one brief moment feeling like they are just across town, and not 5000 miles away.

Don't take people or things for granted.

Tell them you love them.

Every time.







Curveball

I've been excitedly awaiting my gastric sleeve surgery and this weekend was a three day weekend. I was planning to get so much done. Boy...