July 21, 2009

This date above holds a great deal of excitement for me.

On this date, I will be meeting (for the first time) my dear friend Chris.

We have been email and "bloggy" buddies for about six years.

The relationship started small and has blossomed into a deep and "dear-to-my heart" friendship.

I called her for the first time the other night and she emailed me back today. I quote from her email the feelings that we share.

"I was thinking about you yesterday and marveling how a person can feel so much love and feel so close to someone they have never met. I honestly feel like we have travelled to the depths of the earth and back together."

It's quite amazing how deep our friendship has become. I just know without a shadow of a doubt that the moment she walks through my door ~ I will know her.

When our darling boy, Jake was diagnosed with diabetes, our veterinarian told us to put him down.

It was very bad and he said that regulating the blood sugar in a dog was extremely difficult. And as well, he would have to be injected every 12 hours which meant that my life would revolve around Jake.

So I came home, called my husband at the office and then proceeded to cry for days.

Well Don, not one to admit defeat, started to research canine diabetes through the Internet. He happened upon a support site where he got an amazing amount of information and was told by a member that we should definately talk to this lady named Chris in Red Deer, Alberta. Her beautiful golden lab - Midas had Diabetes and Cushings and he was regulated and doing well. She had accumulated a great deal of knowledge so she became indispensable to us and a great sense of support.

Well, the very next day Don got an email from Chris. She said we should not even consider euthanasia for Jake and we should work to regulate his blood sugar.

I have Chris to thank for the almost two extra years of love and companionship I had with Jake.

Anyhow, Don and Chris just hit it off (she also loves hockey - score one for Chris in Don's books). She and I shared a few emails and our friendship slowly developed, but it was Don and she who shared most of the emails. They seemed to have much more in common.

So fast forward to last year. When my dad was ill and dying, she and I started to share very intimate feelings and thoughts throughout that time. It was so interesting as we opened up to each other how much alike we are. We share similar interests, share similar beliefs, thoughts, but I have to say ~ I STILL HATE HOCKEY! Sorry Chris.

She started to follow my blog and before I knew it, I developed a great love for this woman.

Now I can't even imagine a week or two going by without sharing an email.

So their vacation plans are confirmed and now I must wait for July 21st to arrive. In her email today, she informed me that they would be here between 3:00 and 4:00pm.

How exciting is this to finally meet someone I have known in my heart for years, but now will be able to wrap my arms around and give her the hugs that I have sent to her via email for so long.

We will only have the 21st and the morning of the 22nd to cram in a lot of visiting.

Hmmmm, I wonder if she and I will get to bed that night????