This is a tribute of sorts

When I first moved here, I had a really hard time. It's almost been 18 months and I still am having a hard time, but that's a different post for a different time. I was going through a song and dance with the state to get my massage therapy license so in the mean time, I waited tables and bartended at a restaurant. I remember it well, it was my second week of work and my last table of the night. Two girls walked in and sat in my section. They were so sweet. Bright smiles and contagious laughs. After I served their dinners to them I remember saying, "Thanks for being so friendly. You girls have really made my day. As a matter of fact, you are really making me miss my sister." I said this because as I watched their interactions, it reminded me of me and my sister. I told them that my sister was due in a few weeks with a baby and I wanted to be with her badly. It was nice to see them and talk to them because I was still fresh to the area and really, wasn't sure what I was doing here. They made me feel better. Fast forward a year. Again, my second week of work, but at my new salon and spa. When I don't have any clients, I walk around the salon and nail room and talk to clients and offer complimentary neck and shoulder massages while they wait for their colors to process and their nails to dry. That's when I saw her. The girl from the year before that was in my restaurant with her sister. She didn't remember me at first. I approached her and offered her neck and shoulders some lovin'. And again, she had the big smile and the contagious laugh as she talked to her nail tech. Then she started asking me about myself. I told her we'd met before. When I jogged her memory a bit, she remembered. It was a joyous reunion. Since then, this girl has become a regular client of mine. She and I know each other. I know her husband's name. I know about her childhood. I know how much family means to her. She has said on more than one occasion that her family is her rock. I think this is where she and I connect so well. I LOVE my family. I miss my family. I talk to my sister several times a week. She and I have conversations that I guess only sisters can understand. We laugh and we cry together. I'd talk to my brother probably about the same amount of time, but he's very busy and will be for the next two and a half years or so. To have siblings like I have, is the best gift ever. They are my support and my rocks. Their spouses and their children are just as wonderful. I'm such a nerd, I have tears welling up as I type this. My parents are the best. Not only do I have a great mom and a great dad, my mom remarried to a wonderful man who loves me and my siblings as if we were his own. We are so fortunate to have a "bonus dad" like him. I'm grateful for my parents everyday. Words cannot describe the love I have for my family. I miss them all the time and especially as of late. If only every kid could be as lucky as me.