Technology and Innovation rocks!

As if you didn't already know....

Thank whoever is out there for Facebook. This last week, I was contacted by a dear friend that I've had for a very long time. I named my firstborn after her, which clearly means that she had a significant impact on my life.

When I was 7, my dad was transferred to Germany by his employer. Our entire family had to pack up and leave everything that we had ever known. Everything that was familiar. I was only 7, but had 4 older siblings and endured their lamenting. I was mostly sad about leaving behing my best friend Emilie (who I named my second-by-two-minutes-after!). I vividly remember the process. I remember my dad going ahead of us, a few months... while my mom packed up a house of 5 kids and all their junk. I had absolutely no clue what to expect. We had some friends who spent some time in Germany, come to our house and tell us about the Berlin Wall (This was 1982).

I remember the plane ride. My mom got me a little sailor dress to wear. We all dressed up to ride the plane. I remember saying goodbye to friends and family at the airport. I especially remember my grandmothers teary eyes taking a different shape. I got sick on the plane, and the flight attendants brought me coke. My mom and her 5 kids took up an entire middle section and window seats.

I was nervous, scared, but excited! I had an incredible family, so I never had a real sense of insecurity. Mostly, I was going to miss Emilie. She was my very best friend that I knew since she was born. But I was about to move into a 2 story house with stairs and a balcony! Our house in Utah was all on one level.

We moved to a very secluded village. My parents wanted us to have the real "German" experience, so my dad refused the airforce base housing. We had a mini-wall around our house, with a big field behind us, and the most gorgeous forrest across the street. If I recall correctly, this village was 30 minutes away from anything major. We were waaaay out there, in Vogelbach Germany. Living there was a real shock. No one spoke my language, and the money was so different looking. This was a major, major adjustment. There were a few other americans in the same village. One of them was close to my age, just one year younger! Her name is Alexa.

Alexa and I lived on the same street. Our mothers, while extremely different individuals with a huge difference in age, became fast friends. Alexa and I were pretty much inseperable. We were in each others lives for less than 2 years, but so much of that 2 years remains solid in my memory, and has absolutely shaped my life.

In that two years:
I got lost in Switzerland when traveling with her parents.
Same trip-- I dared her to run around the camping trailer without a shirt on. (I guess I've always been naughty)
We got our long hair cut into Annie perm's... (We loved the movie Annie!)
We had sleepovers nearly every weekend.
We went to church with each other.
My mom taught her how to say her "R"'s in our kitchen
We learned how to tell the time together
We equally loved the Smurfs!
We saw E.T. together in the theater!
We bought books of fake tattoo's together
I snuck into the forrest with her one day, hoping to find a swimming hole. My parents forbade me, but I did it anyway. My mom caught us. This was the first and only time I've ever been grounded.
We swam at the nearest pool. I can see the pool, I can remeber the grounds and entrance fee, but can't remember the name of the town. I think it began with an "R".
If neither of us had a toy that we wanted, we tried to find a way to make it. More importantly, we made it work for us!
We got our first wrist watches on the same Christmas.

Then the real emotions started:
Her parents started arguing, a lot. It turned into loud screaming matches. They would go in their room and close the door and fight... but Alexa's room was across the hall, and we could hear them. I told her that whenever my parents fought, I was afraid they would get a divorce. She didn't know what that meant, so I explained it to her.

One morning before school, she rang the doorbell, as she always did. She had breakfast at our house and we walked to the bus stop together. Except for this day, she was crying. I asked her what was wrong, and she told me "It's the bad word you taught me, that begins with "D"" I knew what she meant. Divorce. "Are your parents getting a divorce?" I asked. "Yes" she said. We hugged each other and bawled. I was 8 years old at the time, she was 7. This was the first time that Divorce ever hit close to home, and in my mind, it was the worst thing that could ever possibly happen.

Soon after, she, along with her mom and brother, moved away from Germany. I can still picture her turning around and waving at me, from the back seat of her car. She was my best friend, and then she was gone.

This was so hard for me. I still missed Emilie from the states, but now I missed Alexa, too. A few months from this time, my family moved back to Utah. Throughout the years, I had brief contact with Alexa. Her mom had business in Utah once that I can remember, so she visited us then. I talked to Alexa on the phone a few times, but most recently, it was just before I got married to Jeremy.

To recap: I talked to her 11 years ago, and haven't seen her since I was 8. I always knew I would name my first daughter after her. I love the name Alexa, and I loved the first Alexa I ever knew. I made a few attempts to contact her in the pas t11 years, but to no avail. Until last week, when I got a message from her on Facebook.

My god, this girl who is now a woman, is stunningly gorgeous. We had a long telephone conversation, and she still talks the same, laughs the same... wow! We've gone most of our lives not seeing each other, barely talking to each other, but absolutely pick up where we left off, and totally claim our love for each other. We've been in each others hearts and minds for so many years.

She's a rare, unique, gorgeous, amazing human being. I couldn't be more proud to name my daughter after her. Here is a picture of her, taken last year:


I can still see and hear the 7 year old in her. But that's non-important. To me, she is eternal. She is how she always was, and always will be. I'm so, so glad to have her in my life again!