Our Story Part 1

October 12, 2006

If you had told me five years ago that I would be in a relationship with a man like A, I would not have believed it to be true.

The oddest thing about our story is the way we met. I had put a message on a message board asking for help to learn Spanish and in return, I would help teach somebody English. He responded.

Actually, I needed more help with my Spanish than he did with his English. He had already lived in Boston as a boy with a family as an exchange student. He did not know much English at that time and he had to learn by being thrown into the environment. I only helped him a little with some pronunciation and he has had to teach me everything, the alphabet, pronunciation, verbs. He is still teaching me Spanish.

Over time we started talking, sending a lot of emails, having long chat sessions, telephone conversations, and then later web camera and chat sessions. We learned a lot about each other. I liked him more and more. There was something about the way he viewed the world. He opened me up to new ideas and made me realize that the distance between us didn't matter, as long as we loved each other and stayed devoted and kept contact as much as we could.

At that time, he lived in Chile and I lived here in Alabama. We both enjoyed photography so we shared our days through pictures. I showed him where I lived, special people in my life, with pictures and with little videos. He did the same for me. I saw the beauty of Chile in his pictures and I felt very close to him when I looked at his pictures.

One of my favorite things for him to do was to set up his web camera and notebook and take it out to the back terrace and show me the parrots in the trees, the flowers, and his dogs. Of course, I loved seeing him too, any chance I got! I liked his smile and to hear his laughter.

No matter how much I heard people talk around me that he was in another country, how could we love each other? I just ignored them because I knew in my heart, that I couldn't have loved him more, even if he had been right here in Alabama. That love grew and when we did meet in person, we hit it off perfectly, just as we always had by telephone, by internet chats and webcam sessions.

I have to admit, the first time I met him, I was so nervous! I had all of these concerns which proved to be just a bad case of the nerves. I remember telling my sister on the telephone, What if he does not like me as much as he thinks he does after he gets here? All I can say is I was excited but also, thinking of a million things that might go wrong. Well, I WAS WRONG! Thank goodness!

The day I met A for the first time was also the same day my nephew was born. What a happy day it was, meeting the man I love for the first time and seeing my newborn nephew!

To be continued...

New Blog Format

I am in the process of re-organizing my blog.

The blog will stay at the same address, I am just changing the blog into a different format to make things easier once I get it set up!

I am re-posting some old entries into the new format.

15 year old life lessons

Before being placed in an acute care unit with coma patients, I had never been exposed to coma patients before. I was fifteen years old. I was there because I needed critical care and this was the only unit in the Rehabilitation hospital that provided critical care.

I have to admit at first I was very scared by everything. I cried a lot because I was young and just realizing that my situation was permanent and I was in a rehab hospital several hours away from my home and not allowed to have visitors at all for a few weeks. The hospital called it an “adjustment period” but it felt like punishment because I was used to my Mom visiting me every day and to be cut off from her and my family for a few weeks was very difficult and being in a new place surrounded by new people… I was so lonely and sad and scared. Of course I adjusted in time and realized that I had to work very hard to get out of this place and to get my life back. (I did not realize at the time that it would be two years I had to stay at that rehab hospital!)

In retrospect I think that was probably the best place for me to be at the time to adjust to being a newly paralyzed person because I saw people around me who had lost everything and I was so focused on them and their families that being a new paraplegic seemed minor in comparison.

You come into all kinds of situations in life and you learn from them. You learn that
you are really blessed every day that you can breathe and talk and express yourself.

Carlton

I remember when I saw him
For the very first time
His hair was golden like sunlight

He had chubby angelic cheeks
With a rounded little chin
He looked so perfect when he grinned

I remember seeing his family
They came to the hospital often to visit
The nurses said he was in a bad accident

Somehow he had fell into a pool
Something had gone wrong
Had been underwater too long

Had lost too much oxygen
It caused him to go into a coma
His brain was damaged then

I remember I was so sad for this family
I knew they must be heartbroken
To see their little angel looking perfect
Yet, unconscious and in coma

His sister was just a little girl
I would entertain her so her parents could visit their baby
I really tried to help the little girl be more relaxed

Later, I read books to little Carlton
They said it might be good for him
I don’t know if he heard me...
but there was always a chance

I wanted to make it all better, take away the unhappiness
It just seemed such a tragedy to see so much sadness
I would have fixed this with a solution if I had it

It was so sad the night little Carlton “coded”
The nurses rushed around and I was so distressed that night
He was just a baby and was not supposed to die

Sometimes life hands you hardest lessons in life
You have to learn to value each moment
Because tragedy can strike at any time

-----

There were other young children like Carlton.

There was Chris who came out of his coma but was never the same again. He called me on the telephone after returning home to Tennessee but all he could say was "hamburger, hamburger".

There was a little blonde haired child named Stacy. There was a little Canadian boy named Andrew. There was the young man who got shot... There was the girl with dark hair who I have forgotten her name but will always remember her face. There were so many young children in comas.

I won’t ever forget that time in my life. It was a turning point for me. I gained a lot of inner strength and I learned many life lessons that are still with me today. I met some wonderful people at that hospital that helped me including a doctor and physical therapist who are dear friends today.

-Michelle

Being Thankful

- 2005 -

To touch upon the beauty of this world
To live, breathe and hold it for a moment
Was to make my life like a symphony
Each day filled with new peaks
Now to escape the despair of absence
Since your beauty is not near
Biding my time until you reappear.

I just came across these writings today. I wrote them when Armando and I were living in separate countries. Long distance relationship's are difficult but well worth it if you can have perseverance.

I am thankful that our love was strong enough to carry us through those times when we were so far apart. I cannot tell you how happy I am to have Armando here with me now and to be able to share every day together!

-Michelle

Reflexion: Dos semanas en Chile

It was a lot of fun to see part of Chile. I enjoyed meeting Armando's family and friends. They were very welcoming to me.

Armando's Mom was a total sweetheart. She taught me to knit while I was there despite the language barrier. I like to crochet already but knitting is fun too. (Although, I still need a lot of practice yet!)

Because of the change of weather, I got sick while there and was sick a good bit of the time with a bad cold. Armando also got sick with a bad cold before we left. That was a bummer but we still did fun things like playing games. We often played poker with his friends until the wee hours of the morning! Or magic card games or the ship game. Don't you just hate it when you are on vacation and you get sick?

Armando and I lost our jackets at the Miami airport. Oops! I bought another one in Chile and thank goodness, Armando had another jacket in his luggage.
Armando's Mother's house was great. I liked her yard. It had trees and flowers and a gorgeous water fountain made from quartz.

She had beautiful rocks and crystals and little sitting areas that were so inviting. When you entered into her house, you were met with this trees right beside the door that were so tall and growing in an indoor brick container. Her roof is part glass and wood and the trees were nearly touching it. The glass from the roof let in such a beautiful light to her living room. Her house is so in touch with nature. She has bonsai trees and rocks and a shell collection and a horse collection. I loved it. In the hallway, I got to see great photos of Armando and his sister as children and picture of his Mom. I saw a picture of his sister with white doves on each shoulder. My favorite picture was of Armando's Mom and his Dad in the background and Armando as a little boy in the front standing by a tree. He was so cute. :) I liked a picture of Armando's Mother sitting on a big rock surrounded by water. She looked so pretty in that picture.

In Chile, it is very common to have wine with your meals or pisco sour (a Chilean drink with pisco and lemon). I liked the pisco sour and the piscola (pisco with coca-cola or “coca”as coca-cola is called in Chile) and I enjoyed Chilean wine too. The fresh bread there was delicious. Armando's Mom was a great cook. I was SO happy to see avocado or “palta” so readily available. I love avocado and I ate it a lot while in Chile in salads and on bread. Yum!

I was so happy to see the snow capped mountains of Santiago. I had seen so many photographs of the mountains and Chile that it really was great to actually be seeing those in person. I liked how when we stepped into his Mom's yard we were met with a view of the mountains every morning. I liked how the evening light made the snow on the mountains take on a golden hue.

When you go to downtown Santiago there was great architecture everywhere. The churches and many of the buildings were so ornate!

We met with Armando's best friend, Carolina in Viña and Valparaiso. I was so happy to finally meet her. I had spoke with her on the telephone and chatted with her on the internet before. She is a very sweet lady and with the prettiest long flowing hair. We had a very good visit and her and Armando showed me Viña and Valparaiso and the surroundings.

In the city of Viña, I felt very peaceful with seeing the sea and the water hitting against the rocks. The sound was completely relaxing and the atmosphere in Viña (in the winter at least) is very at ease. You see people going on horse drawn carriage rides everywhere. I understand that in the summer it is a different scene with many tourists coming from Argentina and of course other parts of Chile to enjoy the beaches and sea.

Valparaiso was so charming with the mountains covered with homes and the view down below of the sea. I really liked the bright colors of the houses and the little winding streets that went up and down, up and down. I also enjoyed the murals painted on walls. There is a University in Valparaiso that is extremely beautiful. It looks very British and is complete with stone walls and many steps.

In the part of Chile we were in, (Central Chile) you are surrounded by big palm trees, there were orange trees that grow in the winter and there were a lot of avocado trees. On the way to Viña I saw many vineyards.

Chile is a very long country so the country is very diverse. Part of the country is desert and dry, in one part you can see ice glaciers. I only visited a few cities and I was sick part of the time so I know I only saw the surface of a very beautiful country. I am glad I had the chance to go with Armando and to meet his family and friends. I look forward to another visit and seeing more of Chile in the future!

I included a few pictures in that we took.

-Michelle

Blooming Beauty

When we opened the curtains from our room in Chile, we were met by this magnificent blooming almond tree that is in Armando’s Mom’s back garden. I had never seen an almond tree before. I was captivated by the beauty of its blooms.

Before the almonds are ready for harvest, the wild parrots eat them all and have a feast.

Armando took some photos of the almond tree before we left which I have shared above. I like the photo he captured with the bee especially!

Miami video

Our flight over Miami, Florida.

You can double click on the video after it starts if you want to switch to full screen.

Enjoy!

A night to remember forever

View from the window last night at Restaurant Giratoria.

Last night was a special night. Armando took me to Restaurant Giratoria. It is a restaurant in Santiago where you sit at tables near windows and the floor rotates slowly around and you get a beautiful view of the city down below. I felt very special just being there and being treated to such a fancy place.

But then...another surprise... he said he had a small gift for me.

It is an old tradition. If his Mom really likes the woman her son is going to marry, she gives her a ring that is special to her and it is passed down. He gave me a beautiful ring that his Mom and him had sized to fit me. It meant a lot to me that she likes me and that they gave me such a beautiful ring. I never expected it.

The food I had was delicious. I had a pisco sour which is a Chilean drink with lemon and pisco. We had a Chilean wine with our meal and I ate:

FILETE PANORAMA
(Beef filet stuffed with ham and cheese, pepper and mushroom sauce, sautéed asparagus heads and noisettes potatoes)

For dessert I had:

MARRON GLACE
(Chestnut in a delicious syrup)

and

CAFE CORTADO
(Coffee and cream)

Yum! It was really good. (I know, I know. I am a pig!)

-Michelle

The prettiest church

Santiago, Chile

Chile

It is beautiful here in Chile. The snow capped mountains are gorgeous. It is great to see where Armando has lived most of his life and to meet his family.

Armando´s family and friends are very welcoming and kind to me. His Mom and family and friends held a barbecue in my honor when I first got here. An aunt and a cousin brought me flowers and chocolates. It really made me feel good.

I am improving my Spanish every day as I hear it spoken around me and I try to speak what I know and what I learn.

We went to Cajon del Maipo yesterday (Me, Armando, Armando´s Mom and sister). We ate at a restaurant that had a view of the mountains. I had roasted chicken and a salad with some things I have never tried before. I don´t know what they are called even but the salad was good with lemon, salt and oil.

Today, Armando and I went to an artistic place. They had beautiful art works there of many different kinds.

The picture is from a park overlooking the city of Santiago, Chile. We went there the day before yesterday.

Until Next Time,
Michelle

Simply Great

I wrote last about struggles and I wanted to lighten up a bit this entry and talk about some of life’s simply great things.

You may not hold the same opinion of the following things but in my world, these ten things are simply great!

Books
You can drift into another world when holding the right book in your hand. I love being curled up in bed with a good book!

Traveling
You can really never have enough travel! I enjoy experiencing new cultures and different places.

Photography
When holding a camera in your hands, you learn to be still and look at everyday objects in different ways. You learn to reflect on the beauty of nature and your surroundings.

Love
Where would the world be without it? I really like giving love to things whether it is a plant or an animal or a person. (I really like loving Armando.) :-)

Music
I don’t think I could make it through without having music in my life. There are so many great artists and my taste is all over the place when it comes to music.

Antique Jewelry
Ok, not on everybody’s list but… It IS on mine. I really enjoy old jewelry!

Creativity
I really like making things by hand. I enjoy crocheting and I like most hands on things that involve creativity.

Cooking
I like delicious food and I enjoy cooking and baking.

Coffee
I cannot live without it.

The outdoors
I love trees and flowers, sunshine, pretty clouds and blue skies. I like being outdoors and feeling a breeze as it blows.

Feel free to share some of your simply great things too.

-Michelle

Curve Balls and Such...

Sometimes life can take away your happy smile and make you forget all the beautiful things in the world and send your mood straight into the gutter! It can send ya things, oftentimes MANY things that you surely did not bargain for. Little situations that creep up on you before you are prepared for them or those little roadblocks that are waiting for you around the corner when you are feeling so “untouchable”.

I have often wondered what life would be like without life throwing all the little curve balls that it does. I mean, come on, let’s be honest with ourselves, do we REALLY need constant tests of our strength? Do you think you are stronger for having bypassed or overcame situations like that? I think I am. Do you wish they would stop coming so frequently? Sometimes I do. I have totally gone past the point of asking, why is this happening to me? Have I broke any mirrors lately or done something in to bring me so much bad karma? (laugh)

Actually, things happened so frequently at one period of my life and then set off a domino effect of “bad events” that I rather became used to bad things happening to me and I just got into this hunker down and brace mode. I was constantly ready to adapt to the next disaster. It took a lot of “learning”. You know, the kind of learning one only gets from going through bad stuff. The kind of learning that gives you silly little phrases to help you through like: No pain, No Gain! A winner never quits and a Quitter never wins! Grin and Bear it! You reap what you sow!

On the other hand, if I did not have frequent struggles, maybe I would think the next “big one” was coming and would totally screw my life up and that could be a weight I am unwilling to bear. I think when all is said and done, I grow stronger in adversity and the little battles I have won have made me who I am today and have gave me a sense of compassion for those facing struggles in their life.

The critters

Nap Time, originally uploaded by alabamagal.

Our little critters (Pollyanna, Sky and Character) relaxing today in the living room chair.

:)

Armando bought me a new sewing machine this evening.

I tried it out tonight and it works great!

Oosh! I just realized it is morning now. o_0

I guess I better get to bed.

-Michelle

Pirates...

Armando and I have been playing this game lately.

It is a lot of fun. You get little cards that let you build ships. You try to gather treasure and stop your opponent from gathering treasure. It's a strategy game.

See the website here

Sky

Sky, originally uploaded by alabamagal.

Our kitty Sky yawning and stretching on Armando's computer.

Tuesday

I took this picture yesterday at sunset.

We are having a great time here in Florida.

I enjoyed at the epcot center and going through the different countries. I find the Moroccan architecture and colors beautiful! Strolling through the German section took me back to childhood. Especially seeing the crystal being made and the little glass "beer boots". The Japanese section was great too. I bought us a sushi set and we both bought some pretty chopsticks.

Sadly, tomorrow we must go back home.

I posted a video of the Japanese Taiko drummers we saw the other day.

You can see pictures of our Florida trip by clicking -here-


Have a great day!

-Michelle

Vacation

Today was a long day but I could get through it knowing that tomorrow I will be off.

On Friday we leave for a week's vacation in Florida.

See you when we are back!

-Michelle

April 5, 2006

A relaxing evening at Lake Guntersville


Ducks and Geese


Lake Guntersville


Dogwood Tree


Happy Cinnamon!

-Michelle

All is well

Saturday was very relaxing and enjoyable.

We went to Costco and got a few basic things like washing powders, etc. We bought a Pony Tail Palm that we both liked too. In the evening, Armando and I went to the Shogun restaurant for sushi and Japanese plum wine. I had not had sushi since July so it was a great treat! I had never tried plum wine but it was delicious.

I took the picture above on the way home from Huntsville, Alabama as we crossed the Tennessee River.

We both feel all better from the colds we had.

We have been working through the whole immigration process which is quite a bucket of worms.

“Patience is a virtue.”

Armando has set up a projector and speaker system. It is great for watching movies!

We watched “The House of Flying Daggers” one night. The colors and scenery were beautiful in that movie.I loved the costumes and the fighting scenes when the actors seem to be flying in the air. It is very much like the movies “Hero” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”.

We also saw “Flight Plan” the other day. Jodie Foster was excellent. It was pure suspense all of the way through!

I hope everybody has a great rest of the week. I will try and update my blog more often.

Until next time,
Michelle