The Richest Birthday Present

First off, let me say that my birthday went off without a hitch. In fact, I think it was the FIRST time that zero drama occurred, and that's a feat. The bad part was getting a frantic phone call at 8AM from the newest manager on our team. Her key wasn't working for the door, and the GM said he couldn't come because he lives 30 minutes from our store. Um...SO DO I, and last time I checked...I'm not on salary, AND not the one responsible in times like this. Lily was going to drive all the way to my house to get the key, but that didn't make sense in the grand scheme of things.

So what did I do? I rushed right up there and we busted our butts setting up the kitchen to open on time. Only, that wasn't the only issue. We were short TWO cooks, we had three trainees scheduled and only two trainers, Murphy's Law made sure that customers were pouring in, and then the worst part...I had a guy PUKE in my section. He then proceeded to pay in exact change. Homeboy is NEVER sitting in my section again.

The day didn't exactly get better from there, but I did make the executive decision that everyone needed a pizza party, so I ordered up enough food for the whole staff. I'm pretty sure that is the only thing that got us through the shift. Pizza for the win! The GM sure wasn't appreciative of what we went through, but I thanked all of my peeps, and they seemed extra appreciative of me. It's a good thing that I bend over backwards form my love bugs, and not someone that has less compassion than a zombie.

When I was finally able to flee the scene, I rushed home to the puppy, and practically fell onto the bed. At about 9PM, I decided to check my FB messages {that I am really bad at checking}, and within seconds, my heart skipped a beat. I saw the 4th Brigade avatar, and remembered that I had messaged them with a request for a picture of Will for my birthday. You see, they take pictures and videos to share with families during the training, but they are pretty random and I knew that finding one soldier out of 2,500 is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

 I tried not to get my hopes up, but when I saw that tiny little avatar, I KNEW I got my wish! Who knew that a cardboard message could be the richest birthday present in the world?

Perhaps the most surprising to me, is that this person running the FB site thanked ME for being a supportive Army wife. I requested a picture of my soldier, which seemed selfish to me, and here was this unnamed soldier thanking me. I've sat here for about an hour, and I'm still reeling from this simple gesture. I remind myself that no matter what, I have everything I could need in life. I miss my lover, but he is a part of me and never truly gone. Halfway there, and he'll be home for the holidays <3