Sometimes there are people in our lives that we’ve known for a long time, but really have never gotten to know. My cousin Matt is married to one of those people. Melissa has been in the family, well, forever. They’ve been married for over a decade, and yet it wasn’t until a few years ago when Melissa joined our Saturday morning walking and breakfast club (one good rant per weekend required) that I really got to know her. Did I mention she is also really, really quiet? How quiet is she, you ask? Case in point; six of us went to Cabo San Lucas to our timeshare last year. Four of us were on the balcony watching the whales when I heard… something. A voice? The wind over my shoulder? Fairy sprites? Whale noises? I looked at Anita and asked if she’d said something. She shook her head. We pulled the binoculars back up to our eyes. Then, a slightly louder sound, not sure I’d even call it a stage whisper. “Coffee pot’s on fire.” It was Melissa’s shout, barely loud enough that we all heard it. We ran to the kitchen to see flames shooting out of a brand new Cuisinart coffee maker. The guys muscled it to the balcony where I doused it with a gallon of spring water from the fridge. We called the front desk clerk, who was totally nonchalant about the whole thing and would send housekeeping with a replacement. A five-foot nothing Latina, old enough to be somebody’s abuela, showed up at the door with another brand new Cuisinart coffee maker and a big smile. We motioned her in and led her to the patio to retrieve the melted plastic mass sitting in the puddle. She laughed.
But back to Melissa. Very quiet, as you can tell. It’s harder to get to know people who are quiet. They sit back and take everything in, but you never know what they’re thinking. If you’re with the five of us on Saturday morning we’re gonna find out what you’re thinking. Melissa is really, really smart, hard working, and really funny as well as being beautiful and sweet. She has turned into such an amazing friend, more like a sister. She went back to school to complete her masters, graduating last year, while working full time and taking care of her dad. So I’m writing about Melissa today for two reasons. The first is that she was just promoted to Director at Lifestream, an organization that, according to their website, “was founded in 1976 by a group of concerned parents seeking a better life for their adult children with intellectual and physical disabilities. They provide a wide range of programs and services to enrich the lives and productivity of adults facing significant barriers to personal growth and financial independence, including residential and day programs, employment and training services, and much more.” Important work, and I’m so proud of not only her accomplishment but that she does what she does. Congratulations Melissa! You deserve this. The other reason I’m writing about Melissa today is that her dad is having a surgical procedure and I want to let her know I am thinking of him, and her.
Please lets all send healing to Melissa’s dad today.
