What a fantastic way to begin!!!

Hello Friends!

The whole limo gang

I am writing to you today a very happy person! I would like to say that I am always happy, believe that if you want, but today I am especially happy! Of course you should already know why since so many of you have been waiting to hear about our fantastic Limo ride on Saturday (Bucket List item #11). Well let me share with you my friends, this bucket list thing has it perks! I am thinking that I need to start mine now... today... okay, maybe last Saturday.


But some joking aside, we are celebrating the life of my mother, Wanda, and without her as the focus it was just another ride in a extra-long stretch, black, sleek, leather decked, mood lit taxi ride. Umm... with free alcohol. Seriously though, it was a wonderful time with family and close friends. Thank you to the special family who donated the unlimited dream ride for the day, your hearts know absolutely no bounds and may God bless you for your continuous displays of love.


Saturday afternoon, the ride started out with the extra-tall Reid clan wedging ourselves into the limo with my mom's dear friend, Joann and her wonderful grand daughter who just happens to be a complete doll and my daughter's best friend. So the entire "family" set out from Murrieta at about 2pm with our driver, James. YES! Your heard correctly, his name was James! I am still wondering if he made that up for us so that we could bust out with our ridiculous, pseudo English accents and say typical things like, "drive on James" or "have a care James, the old bird is dozing!" For putting up with our jokes he wins the "101 stupid limo jokes" award and he really was a dear man despite his lead foot (more on this later). 


In the Limo we all poured champagne and sparkling cider respectively and took turns toasting Wanda and telling her the one thing that stood out in our minds most about her. Here is a highlight:


Wanda is always there when you need her, so very dependable. She is always smiling, at everyone, at everything, she always has a smile on her face that glows. Wanda is good at taking care of her family and is always performing acts of love for others. She is the glue that holds people together, no matter the cost. She is a woman of great faith and of great love. 

The Reid family and mama Wanda

Needless to say, my mom is a woman who has already made her mark in this world and no matter what happens, she will be remembered forever. 


After the special time of togetherness, and of watching Joann and mom play with all the gadgets and buttons for a while, we finished our champagne and settled in to chat about life and the sweet gift that it is. Mom talked about how much she loved her first limo ride and how nice it was inside. We talked about ministry work and sacrifice and how blessed we are as a nation. I think these conversations never get old, they always remind us of the perspective that God has blessed us so much!

The very beautiful Wanda and Joann

We made it to Mission Bay (San Diego) in record time, 1 hour flat! All that in traffic with a light drizzle. I am quite the indy-driver myself and I am sure he would have beat me hands down. It is definitely a good thing that I was facing sideways, it is less scary when you cannot see the cars that you are careening around and bumpers so close that I could use braille to read the license plates! In the end we are alive and I am here writing this blog entry so, "Jolly good sport James!" In fact, he was so "efficient" in getting us there, we had enough time before our dinner reservations to stop for a stroll along the bay.  Mom just loved it there and I was again reminded of God's glory that is revealed in His creation. 


Dinner was at the divine Firefly restaurant located in the Dana Resort in Mission Bay. Actually, I should call in a Linner sort of meal since we were there and starving by 3:30pm. We had the restaurant to ourselves and took full advantage of the waitresses attention. Mom ordered fried Brussel Sprouts for an appetizer and hearing this I was mentally pitched back to my childhood with memories of all the absolutely awful things my mom made us eat. I suppose as an automatic defense mechanism I suddenly remembered the creative ways to throw out my mushy veggies without my mom catching me. I mean, I have it down to a science, but here 25 years later, I felt a little rusty. Was she serious?!!! FRIED BRUSSEL SPROUTS!  I tried to calm myself down. After all, I was now a grown woman and could just refuse to eat them. Seconds later and probably sub-consciously, I spied the nearest trash can just in case. 

The gang at Mission Bay

Nervously fingering the heavy napkin I held in my lap, I wondered just how many of those dirt-tasting little green sprouts I could fit into there without being seen. As if the words "I told you so!" could be heard on the Mother is Right network, the waitress set down an aromatic plate full of these teeny-weenie Brussel Sprouts swimming in a sauce that I was sure I could lick right off the plate and call it a day! And to everyone's delight, we polished off the now-redeemed little vegetable and even spent a good deal of time trying figure out the recipe. So, the next time I have one of you over for dinner, watch out... and have a little faith! 

Enjoying Firefly restaurant in Mission Bay

As I am sure you are expecting, the meal was delightful and we all headed home shortly afterwards to spend the evening in the euphoric high you get when you have just spent "the best day ever!" It sure is a good thing those days are not limited to one. 


May my sweet mother bless us with many more of these days in her company. As we look forward to the next bucket list item, I am reminded of just how important people are in our lives. As you finish this story, take a few minutes to think of someone special to you. If they were dying, what memories would you want to create? What would you want to tell them? 


Then start doing it now, not later... and not never. Today is here.



All my love and until the next time,


Sarah

Fundraising success!

Hello friends!


It's time to sit down with you all again and share our latest comings and goings. First of all, thank you all so much for asking after my mom these past few weeks. Most of you are familiar with my typical response now, "She's doing great! I wrote on her blog, did you read it?" So there it is, I am committed to updating this blog every week so go ahead and spread the word! 


Our fundraising efforts for October were a huge success! Thank you to everyone who purchased a gift certificate, we raised over $1,400 towards the bucket list! What a blessing it is when everyone participates to help someone's dreams come true. 


And so here we are... all dressed up and nowhere to go. Okay okay, seriously, I am working out a few details still but it looks like we will begin our bucket list within a few weeks with #11. 


Now what is #11 you may ask? I invite you to go back to October's postings to the original list and take a look again. It's my little invitation to reacquaint yourselves with my mom's goals for this year. Settle in and get familiar again with the list because we are on our way my friends!


Many of you still ask what you can do to help. Well, there are still lots of items left on the list that have not been tackled. If you see the list and think that you may be able to help out, please let me know. If you have an idea of a way to compliment the list in a small way, then it's a big deal to us! Just contact me and let me know. My mom and I read every comment you guys make on this blog and it truly speaks of your love.


I will be in touch soon!