From there to here...........

As I get older, knocking on 50's door, I often look back at my life with awe ~ the seasons, the changes, the differences ~ the things that I look back on and wonder ~ why were they so important? The things that I feared ~ why? I look back at the days of my youth, some wasted days, some cherished days, some sorrowful days, some joyful days ~ these are the days of my life ~ as it once was. 13 years ago, I met a man. Not just any man. The man who was to become my husband, and then some. Richard, this man, was to become my best friend ~ shortly after we met, he said something to me that resounded in my heart ~ he said, "I'll show you the world" ~ now, I was intrigued by that statement, particularly since I feared. I feared everything. For years I had suffered from intense anxiety attacks. Restaurants were too noisy ~ couldn't go there. Malls, I would run from in tears ~ stiff with anxiety. Planes - no way! The irony of that was that I had grown up with a father who was a pilot ~ and who loved to fly. I grew up with Sunday afternoon airplane rides like some kids go for Sunday drives. Not us ~ it was dropping from the sky with zero gravity ~ M & M's floating in the cockpit! So, funny how life spins your head around ~ children came along, and the marriage began to fail. As it did, anxiety entered my life ~ and hung around for a while. It would be fitting then, as this new man entered my life, that it was time for anxiety to exit, and exit it did. With much patience, restaurants became a new friend! We could actually enjoy a meal out, over a nice bottle of wine. Shopping became pleasant. Opportunities came my way. My first opportunity came by way of a job offer ~ a job that I desperately wanted. The problem was, it involved travel. Alot of it. So, my man said ~ you can do this. Get on that plane and go. Scared? Absolutely. But ~ go I did! And so, with love, support, encouragement ~ it all started with a 45 minute plane ride to Amarillo, Texas~ Ironically, Amarillo was the home of my man, the place that we lived when we first married, and the start to breaking the bonds of fear that held me captive for years. Amarillo and that man ~ that man who has kept his promise to "show me the world" ~ Here is our show!