4 years ago today, I entered IAH airport with a one-way ticket to Zurich. Wow – never saw it coming – and to this day, not entirely sure how I followed through.

The last person I saw was Carol. I laugh thinking about it.  With her big TSA security badge, she made every other TSA screener think I was some VIP on a VIM (Very Important Mission.) She whizzed my two HUGE carry ons through the scanners and if the security folks started to ask a question, she gave them this look like “If you get in my way, you are going to regret it. I know what I’m doing and obviously, you have not been briefed on who this is…”

And when I landed at Charles de Gualle in Paris for my layover, I wished I had Carol with me as I went through security. These two carry ons would make any security guard take a second and third look. One contained every piece of electronic equipment I could carry – laps tops, external hard drives, cameras, phones, chargers, headphones. It just begged to be subject to extra scanning. And the other, well it took Leann and I an entire day to pack it – as it carried every piece of jewelry I owned (checked luggage was not to be trusted). Tell me that’s not a red flag for an individual crossing three country borders.

Carol gave me a long hug, we cried and laughed as she shoved me through the gate. I got on that flight not having a clue what was in store for me. I didn’t know if I would survive a week in what I thought was sure to be sub-arctic conditions and away from every thing and every one I ever knew and loved. My entire personal life was upside down and I was doing all of this for a job (or so I thought).

I didn’t know how the horses and cats would live back in Texas without me. I didn’t know how I would keep the hay cut or the pool clean. And what would become of the house? In Switzerland, I didn’t know where I would live or how I would find friends. How fast could I learn the language? How would it feel to be truly alone? Who would care if my flight landed or didn’t?

And the coming months were the most difficult of my life. I got to a low point where I didn’t know who I was. Everything was dark to me. Mentally and physically I was a wreck. Only my conversations with God got me out of bed each day. Here I was, surrounded by so much beauty, but I couldn’t pick my head up high enough to see an Alp. If something didn’t change soon, I didn’t know how much more I could handle.

Thankfully, God had a plan – and one by one, He sent Polly and Sarah and Rachel to me. And that was the turning point. That’s when I realized how much life I still had.

And how much love I still had.

And how loved I still was.

I began to understand my choices…

the choice to be afraid, or the choice to be brave

the choice to live in the past, or the choice to live in the moment

the choice to worry, or the choice to have faith

the choice to focus on me, or the choice to focus on others

the choice to make my own decisions, or the choice to let God lead the way

And surprisingly, it was pretty simple after that. I remember it very clearly. It was in those months where I realized, and came to know, the woman I was and the woman I could be. I found my confidence, my sanity and my grace.

I don’t reflect on those moments four years ago very often, but today, January 29th, I thought I should.

And thinking about the manners my mother taught me, I thought I should say thank you to all of you for walking with me on this journey. For all those that sent me off, for those that stayed in touch, for those that reached out, for those that sent those fantastic care packages of salsa and Whataburger ketchup, for those that have embraced me as though we’ve known each other all of our lives and have shown me all that life can be…….

I am humbled and forever in your debt. It’s a great milestone today and I wanted to share it with you and remind you that –  when you think you can’t get up, I will be there to offer my hand.

According to Wikipedia, DNA is a molecule that carries most of the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms.  This information determines how living organisms inherit features from their parents and thereby all their ancestors. And, as far as I know, I came by my DNA naturally. When I was born, it wasn’t likely that experimentation resulted in how my DNA got put together. Thank goodness! I reflected on this today because it would have been the 95th birthday of my Grandmother – Ollie Beatrice Welch.

When I think about who I want to be when I grow up, I generally think about my parents and my grand parents. Through DNA, their traits theoretically would have showed up somewhere in me. Which genes I ended up with is anyone’s guess. Being greedy, I’d want all the good stuff. And, being not very impartial, there was a lot of good stuff to pass on. You’d think I’d have a good shot at being pretty amazing.

Joshua 1:6-9 “Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. “Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.”

This was Memom. To me, she demonstrated bravery. She faced many challenges in her life and answered them with courage and determination and faith. She never strayed from what the Good Lord asked of her, she stayed steady and strong. I think she had a devotional on every table in the house. I love most the stories of how she became the first female sales rep at the Western Auto in Waco. The accounts of her crazy road trips across the country with her best friend. And the numerous articles written about her leadership in AWBA. And all of this at a time when women were just coming in their own.

She kept a copy of this:

If you work for a man, in heaven’s name work for him. If he pays you wages which supply you bread and butter, work for him; speak well of him; stand by him, and stand by the institution he represents. If put to a pinch, an ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness. If you must vilify, condemn, and eternally disparage, resign your position, and when you are outside, damn to your heart’s content, but as long as you are part of the institution do not condemn it. If you do that, you are loosening the tendrils that are holding you to the institution, and at the first high wind that comes along, you will be uprooted and blown away, and will probably never know the reason why. Elbert Hubbard

I come from a family of very strong women. Dear Lord, I hope you made sure I got the good genes. And I pray that you also gave me the wisdom and courage to know what to do with them 🙂

Everyone knows about my wonderful neighbors Ladda and Johann. It seems daily there is a new experience, a new story to tell that involves these two intriguing and lovely versions of Glady Kravitz. And today was no different. 

To say Johann is a military history fanatic is an understatement. He has some bit of knowledge about every conflict since the beginning of time. He consumes books like he breathes the air. He has details on the underlying cause of any war or battle, and recognizes the combat uniforms and the machinery deployed – as well he knows who sold who which piece of artillery over ever changing borders and alliances. And so, earlier this week he asked if he and Ladda could come over to watch the Russian V Day celebration on my TV as I get some stations that he doesn’t. He was already planning on watching the European memorials, but he needed access to the Russian channels. Of course I said yes, that I’d love to watch the Russian coverage of the event 🙂 (How could I not have had this already on my agenda!)

On Friday I decided I needed to get a bit more detail on what I had signed up for.  On the 8th, the UK, France and others were marking the 70th anniversary of the ending of WWII. Johann told me that the 9th is the day that the head of Germany’s Armed Forces High Command, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, surrendered personally to Joseph Stalin’s representative in Berlin.  And so, the parade would begin at 10am Russian time Saturday morning, taking into the time difference, that would be 8am in Zurich – yikes…..did he just say he was coming over on Saturday at 8am???? Well, I’ll have the coffee and tea ready….but I can’t promise I won’t be in my pajamas.

As expected, the doorbell rang at 7:42am. He was like a kid at Christmas. Johann had already been to the bakery and the smell of fresh croissants quickly brought me to life. I had orange-crasin muffins in the oven and Ladda was happy to bring soft boiled eggs and the homemade prune jam from her best friend. And so the festivities began.

Ready for the parade

As we gathered on the couch and got comfortable, we realized that there was a 60 minute countdown on the Russian channel. It took us about 4 minutes to realize that there is no observation of Daylight Savings Time in Russia…DOH…so we were an hour early. Well thank goodness for this as Johann didn’t want to miss a thing!

And as any good news service would do, there was plenty coverage of pre-parade activities (sort of like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day pre-show prep….but different.) The best part was watching all the Heads of State arriving. Of course the commentary was in Russian, so the broadcast wasn’t much help to me, but we had our expert of all things global and political….Johann – he recognized each and every President and diplomat – sometimes he had a good head start because he knew the flags on the cars as the arrived in front of the Kremlin, and some because he recognized the wife – nothing gets by him.

3 hours later, I have to say, we had such a good time. I learned about the statue of Minin in Red Square, the naming of Sukhoi SU 30 fighter jet, the new baby of the mistress of Putin, and how to tell the difference between the KGB uniforms and the FSS. 

And with all discussions of the War (WWII), there is always expressed and unexpressed appreciation for “the Americans”. It happens no matter who I am with. I’ve written and shared stories of the phenomenon before. I don’t know if i would have ever had the same opportunity to appreciate our sacrifice and our duty in this way. I am a better American for having been in these sometimes odd situations.

I’ve learned after three years in Zurich with these lovely guardian angels as my neighbors, that sometimes, well most times, some of the best things in life come with no expectations. I have many stories to tell about my adventures with Ladda and Johann, and the best part, is that all of these stories will be etched in my memory for ever. They provide me an experience and an inner growth that has enriched my life. I am a better human, and a better American, for having opened myself up to the sometimes crazy requests of my neighbors.