Birthdays – Exploring life

Yep, I got to go to Paris, France. I can’t even type fast enough to tell you how this was such an amazing trip, how a dream came true and how much I cried on the trip! When the pilot said “Welcome to Paris France” I bawled like a baby, I couldn’t make it stop if I tried! I first began to fall in love with Paris when I was in High School. I don’t remember what it was but I wanted to go backpacking to Paris. Due to circumstances it just never happened. Life got busy, mainly I got married, was working full time and had some kids. I have never looked back and thought well, “I wasted those years, I should of traveled but I never let go of the dream to go to Paris.” I wrote a blog a couple of years ago about dreams (You can read it here https://wordpress.com/post/sarookj.wordpress.com/11804 )

Well now fast forward to May 16th, 2018 and I have now just landed in a city I love but have never met. It was like a blind date but I was already in love, head over heels to be honest but yet had never meet this place that I had built up so much in my head. To be honest I was a bit scared that I had made it some big, giant beautiful place that I love, but when I get there what if I don’t think it is what I feel it should be like?! What if it doesn’t live up to my dreams?! What if I’m a bit disappointed by it all?! I never thought that I would hate it but I was worried it wasn’t going to be all that I made it out to be. It’s the day before my 36th birthday and we are boarding the plane. First I’m traveling with one of my best friends so right there it’s going to be a great time. We got our luggage all checked, and now we wait. We walked around the airport, made a phone call to a friend and ate some snacks before getting on the plane. I was a bit worried about the flight, it was the longest flight I have ever been on and my friend doesn’t like to fly. To be honest it was a great flight! We got some good eats, by airplane standards, watched some movies and I slept a broken two hours. Landing was smooth, and now we were in another country.

To be honest the airport was nothing to write home about. Looked no different than the one we left in, other then we couldn’t read the signs now! Oh, and Eiffel towers were everywhere. We managed to get to our Air Bnb apartment, it was SO cute! It was a bit of a journey to get there but once we did, we loved it. It was very Parisian and every day a fresh market was set up and tore down, the sights and sounds were amazing. Day 1 it was my birthday and we went to the Eiffel and ate the most delicious pasta I have ever had, oh and let me tell you about the Crème brûlée. I’m drooling just thinking about it!

This is the open air market that was set up everday, it was 4 blocks long!!!!

Oh my, this was by far one of the best meals we had!

My friend Jen or as we call her, “Tall”. Yes that is really her name, Jen but when 2 of your best friends have the same name as you, you end up with nicknames. So Tall said ” I know you know you’re in Paris BUT it won’t be real until you see the Eiffel Tower”. So we found out how to get there and she was right! I was in awe at this beautiful metal landmark and I couldn’t help but be aware that my mouth may of been hanging open, I was here, IN Paris, dreams DO come true! What kind of tourist would we be if we didn’t enjoy a crepe at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower?! It was full of Nutella, and it was amazing.

Day 2 was Notre Dame church, wow that stain glass window is incredible! We walked the Champs-Élysées and seeing the Eiffel Tower at night from a different view. Day 3 was full of fun as well, The Louvre at night, as well at the Montrepasse Tower and of course more food! Day 4 We also ventured to Versailles and did a river boat tour. Day 5 was a full day of rest, much needed I might add. Day 6 We ventured out to Monet’s Garden, which I can do a whole blog post just about the pure beauty of that place followed by the most amazing pizza at a small restaurant in the area we were living in.

When we had our rest day, I went out and got us some breakfast and lunch, croissants and a baguette sandwich, cause I mean what else would one eat in Paris?! We just chilled in our apartment and watched Netflix all day, it was needed and amazing! We also went to the War Museum in Paris and ate some more. We ate a lot, but man did we walk it off, who knew Paris has so many stairs!!!!! There was one last visit to the Eiffel Tower, one more delicious dinner and an early bed time because we headed to London, England the next day. Seven days in Paris was a dream, I often look back at the pictures to make sure I’m in them, because it just seems like a dream that I just haven’t woken up from yet.

Until next time, keep on Exploring Life.

With love,

Jen

I wanted to share something I got to witness first hand. What is it that I got to see? Well, it’s something sadly we don’t see often, almost a lost concept to some. What I saw was many people putting their lives aside to care for another person. That other person was me! The ones who laid their lives aside were my family and friends. This was almost a year ago and the impact that it had on me has stuck with me, and I wanted to share it with you.
It all began as a nice fun night out with 2 of my best friends, also named Jen. These are my “ride or die” friends, my squad, my chosen sisters, the ones come hell or high water are there, the type you can call at 3am and know they would be there for you…I think you get the idea. Well it was Jen M’s birthday and we were having amazing an conversation and food. As I took my last bite and sent a text off, all of a sudden a sharp pain began in my stomach. I thought maybe gas or food poisoning that came on abnormally fast. I insisted they finish dessert and I would go lay in the car and come out whenever they were done. Now, because they are the type of friends I described them as, they grabbed the dessert to go and against my will they rushed me to the emergency department to get checked out.
They stayed with me all night and all the next day. After 36 hours of being up I insisted that they go home, change and shower. Another friend of ours also was so sweet and packed them a lunch so they wouldn’t lose strength trying to stay with me. So with hesitation they did leave to go shower and eat, and I slept as now I was on some crazy heavy meds. Beause they are also the type of friends I said they are, they made sure to get me on video chatting away while high as a kite. I just love them!!!!!

Over the next 3.5 days we laughed, I cried and we created great memories, especially as more people like my Mom and other friends showed up. It turns out my gallbladder wasn’t happy and wanted out. So I had semi-emergency surgery after being in the hospital for 2.5 days. I was calm and really felt peaceful once I got into the operating room, because I knew God was with me and my team was waiting for me. My Mom and Tall Jen bathed me…that’s right my Mom and best friend had to shower me, talk about being in a desperate situation for a shower and taking friendship to a new level. I was thankful to my mom and Tall for taking on this task because I couldn’t do it alone.

My Husband played a very important role also. I insisted he stay at home with the kids. I wanted them to know I was ok and led as normal of a life while I was in the Hospital. This was the first time anything like this had happened to me, So I knew keeping things as regular as possible was key. He did amazing, despite the fact I was in the Hospital, He ran the ship at home. The kids where comforted and felt no need to worry about Mommy, because Daddy was there to keep things stable and as normal as possible. It was so nice not having to worry about where they going to be after school and pick ups etc. He continued to be a help at home while I recover as I can’t lift anything over 10lbs for 4-6 weeks. So laundry was allllll his 😉 He also was holding down his job, working crazy hours while I was in the hospital.

My Mom put her whole week on hold to help care for me. She was awesome at knowing what I needed and ensuring I drank lots of water. She was there to help me up the first time post op and as one of the incisions began to leak from getting up and, as blood ran down my leg she kept me calm. She was there to rub my legs as I cried from a painful needle. She prayed over me, fed my friends and filled the room with laughter and love, in a way that only a Mom can do, even knowing I’m in my mid 30s, I still needed my Mom there.

Tall Jen (She’s the tallest of the Jens, and when 3 of you are named Jen and are best friends, nicknames are a necessity)..this chick who by the way at the time was waiting for her own surgery for a hip tear, slept in a chair and in a busy TV room the night I was recovering from surgery. In the ER she advocated for me to get a room, meds and she even collected my pee sample and carried it around for 20 minutes. She had me laughing so much that after surgery I was crying and holding my incisions. She stepped in and helped out a for the first week I was home recovering on the days Mark had to work. She got the kids up, dressed, fed and off to school the mornings so I didn’t have to. She kept me company, we had naps and binge watched TV.

Jen M…the birthday girl. Well she sacrificed her birthday to be with me. That’s enough there but she was a great purse watcher, ran my phone and communication to everyone. She brought food to the hospital and a meal to our house. She was a much needed cheerleader and a calm in the storm. She dropped everything when we got the call for surgery and showed up before I went in and was there when I got out. She was transportation for my kids to and from school as well when Mark was working.

There was so many people who also played a role with providing meals for the week for my family. Who prayed, visited, called and sent text messages. I am so thankful for each person who called, text, visited and helped out. I completely recovered and thankfully haven’t had any long term side effects that can you can get from not having your gallbladder. The lesson in this is, surround yourself with right type of people. Not because you expect them to drop everything for you, but because in great times and in times of trials they are there for you. You are not meant to do this thing called life alone! Make 2018 a year marked by great relationships. Love those special people in a radical selfless manner and watch how rich your life becomes.

Millier keeping warm, and my Mom taking off my nail polish.