Busy week....

I am feeling exhausted...and no I'm not pregnant. It has just been a very busy week. A few weeks ago I decided I had to visit Amy A. She's one of the few that has visited me without a return visit from myself....which I was reminded of every so often. So after working around her hectic travel schedule, we decided on a date. Of course, things did not go as smoothly as I had hoped.

About a week before my scheduled trip, I found out a good friend from high school was killed in action in Iraq. It was devastating. It happened the day before the Fort Hood shootings but I found out the morning after. Amy S. was a good friend. Even though time and distance separated us she always made an effort not only to keep in touch with me but all our other friends. Sadly, between all my high school friends...she was probably the only link left. She always wrote very encouraging e-mails to me. Not only was she in the army herself but she was also married to a soldier and they were stationed at different posts for the majority of their marriage. She was so excited to start their life together. They finally moved in together at the beginning of this year, bought a house, and deployed together over the summer. This was her second deployment to Iraq, his third.

I knew I needed to go home for the funeral but I had no idea when it would be. So I decided to go visit Amy A. anyways and just fly out from Nashville after the arrangements had been made. I needed to get away and luckily Katie and Sierra were able to join us. It was great catching up. We only got to spend about a day and a half together but I was happy to see how much Sierra has grown and Katie in the mommy of a toddler mode. Of course every time Katie chased Sierra, I would look at Amy, giggle, and ask...can we really do this? It was just what I needed to get my mind off of things for a little bit.

Then I headed home for the funeral. It was weird. There were all these people I recognized from high school but I didn't know their names. It was amazing how many people showed up for calling hours. I waited for about an hour and a half but some people waited up to 3 hours. Her old roommate from Germany was there and a few friends from Fort Lewis. Unfortunately most of her friends and her husband's support were still in Iraq. It was really tough to watch her husband. He has no relationship with his family so she was his only family.

A lot of people honored her memory during the funeral service. There were people holding flags through some of the small towns we drove through and fire trucks with ladders and flags raised. Our local newspaper announced the night before that the Kansas "church" that demonstrates at soldier's funerals would be in attendance for the funeral. I really thank God that they either didn't show up or there were so many supporters that we didn't even notice them there. I was able to catch up with some old friends and remember all the ways Amy S. affected our lives. Everyone kept joking about how mad she would be that we were all making such a big fuss over her. Please keep her family and especially her husband in your prayers.

After my brief trip home, I spent an additional day with Amy A. before returning to my hubby and pups. She even cooked me a wonderful meal and some really great tasting muffins. So now I'm back in GA, trying to get things back to normal. We're preparing for Thanksgiving at our house.

Rest in peace Amy Seyboth Tirador. We love you and miss you!