Leaving on a Jet Plane

Ok ok...so I know my last post said I'm back..Well I'm leaving again =0)...this time for not quite as long.




Tomorrow I will be flying from my home of Arizona to Ashburn,VA(well that general area at least). I am on my way to see some of the most amazing friends any person could ask for. When I was a child living Oklahoma, a couple moved in next door to my house. Me being the kid that I was introduced myself to them and couldn't be happier that I did. They were the Fink family complete with Stephanie, David, Romeo and soon to join Juliet. They were the coolest people I had ever met. Stephanie quickly became my role model she was everything I ever wanted to be when I grew up. At that time they were both in the military. Stephanie was a military cop, to me she had it all. She had a cool job, she had a husband, 2 dogs, a house and a cool car(which she has now traded in for her soccer mom van =P). I remember going on early morning runs, going to work with her and just sitting in the living room talking smack..which was usually aimed at Dave but he took it like a champ. Their home quickly became my "home away from home" even though it was probably 50 feet from my own front door. When they would go overseas on military business I would watch the house, get the mail, and feed the dogs. I took pride in knowing that they trusted me enough to care for their things while they were thousands of miles away.




In the summer between 7th and 8th grade my mother decided we were moving to Kansas and me being 13 had to follow. I was not happy about it but at that age what is a kid to do. So I made sure to take the fink's address with me so that I could keep in contact with them and as you guessed it I lost it along the way. Shortly after our move the military shipped them to a different base and they were gone forever. Or so I thought. I spent many years searching for them. Do you know how many David Fink's there are in America..I DO!!!! After years of searching I gave up for a while because each dead end made me more and more frustrated. I grew sad at the thought that I may never see or speak to them again.



Just before New Years Eve of this year I gave it one last shot. I promised myself that if I didn't find them this time I wasn't going to try anymore. So I go on Facebook....yes facebook of all places and I searched. I put in the name "Stephanie Fink" and hit a dead end. So I typed "David Fink"....500 possibilities showed up and I began to scan the pictures. 8 pages later I saw a smile I thought I recognized so I clicked the picture. I began to read what I could see and when it said "married to Stephanie Karl-Fink" my heart hit the floor. Had I really found them? Could this really be happening to me? I clicked on Stephanie's name and when her picture popped up I cried. Instantly a rush of emotion flooded my body. I had found my childhood mentor. I had found my friend.



I sent her an e~mail honestly not expecting a response, i mean come on how many times in life does an adult remember some kid that lived next door. She did, Stephanie remembered me. We began to talk back and forth through e~mail and then she sent me her phone number. My heart raced as I dialed that number and when I heard the words "AMBER IS THAT REALLY YOU" on the other end of the line the tears began to flow again. While we were on the phone Dave came home and she told him it was me, he said "Amber Gilliam?" I smiled because he remembered me too. Stephanie and I talked for hours, playing catch up on life. She is now out of the military and a freelance writer, Dave is a government contractor. Romeo and Juliet have since pasted on to a better place, and Stephanie and Dave were finally blessed with the children they had always prayed for. Along with those 2 boys, came 2 frogs =0)....Frogs can't lock you out of the house like dogs can HUH STEPH?!? =0)


So tomorrow I will be boarding an airplane, flying half way across the country and into the arms of 2 of the most amazing people anyone could ask for. I am blessed to call them my friends, my family. It will be the first time in almost 11 years that I have seen them. We will get to talk smack like old times, gang up on Dave until he turns red and gives up on the smack talk. I will get to meet their 2 handsome sons Jake and Cal, and we will get to make up for time lost over the years. I have so many emotions running through me when I think about it but above all I am excited. True friends in this world are hard to find and I thank God that Stephanie and Dave are 2 people I can call my very true friends. I lost them once, and I can guarantee I won't ever loose them again.



"True friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget."~Amanda Kunkle






until next time.....love and peace

~amber~