The Gift Exchange

Guest Blogger: Mitzi Hathaway

While the holidays are a special time to spend with family and friends, it can also be a bit sad when those loved ones are far away. One way to stay connected is through a gift that is a constant reminder that you are thinking of them, that your heart is always with them.

My best friend of nine years could not be farther away. She is from Melbourne, Australia. We met online in 1991 two weeks before 911. That day she called and cried with me. That evening, she started a chain of support email that grew into an enormous act of kindness and love. The days after that tragic day in US history, she and her friends rallied around me and my friends in the US., sending messages of love and support for our Country. They waved our flags, hung yellow ribbons and adorned shirts with the US Flag.

That was the just the start of our friendship. Through the years there have been care packages, gifts, hundreds of phone calls, countless emails and instant messages. She was there for me when my son was diagnosed with autism, when our daughters became impossible tweens, through my painful physical therapy after a car accident and when an illness left me without the ability to see. She called me every day for two weeks until I recovered.

What I realized is that a best friend is someone that is there for you in good times, bad times, through tragedy, and while celebrating your joys. Not necessarily a person you see everyday, but the one person who knows you best and loves you anyway.

My biggest dream is for us to meet in person. Nine years and thousands of dollars later, that dream is about to become a reality soon. It is so surreal, that in all the places in the world to have a holiday, she chose to come visit me! Quite an amazing feeling of excitement knowing that soon, the sweet friend I hold in my heart, I will be able to hold in person.

That is why before she leaves I am giving her our The World Is Your Oyster gift. May she look at it, knowing that I am never that far way. Our continents may be separated by an vast ocean, Yet our hearts and our countries are forever connected by friendship and love. During those times when life seems so difficult, May she look at it, knowing that as long as we have each other, we hold the entire world in our hands.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.