She is my third cousin. (I think?)

The summer before my senior year of high school, my great grandma died. My family and I were in Hawaii on vacation when we got the news. We decided to fly back to New York to go to her funeral. It was a miserable couple of flights but when we got to New York it was worth it. I got to see all the places my dad and my grandparents had spent time before they moved to Colorado. It was incredible to see their old houses and visit their old friends. We caught up with family who I hadn't seen in years. It was an amazing trip.

The most amazing thing about it was that I met Brenda. She is my dad's dad's brother's daughter's daughter. You follow? Haha. She is my third cousin. (I think?) Anyway she is amazing and we have established a great friendship in the last 6 years. A couple years ago she got married to a Marine and moved to San Diego. I don't see her nearly as often as I'd like, but whenever we get together it's a blast.

Her husband is deployed in Afghanistan until May, making the holidays especially tough for her this year. The Thursday before Christmas, I got a call asking if she could drive from California to Colorado for Christmas. Um, hello? OF COURSE! So she got in her car with her roommate and her dog and drove practically through the night to make it to Christmas Eve dinner. She spent a few days with us and it was so great to see her. I was so happy that we could share the holidays with her, so that she and her roommate didn't have to be alone on Christmas. I can't imagine knowing my husband was a half a world away, not being able to celebrate.

She is an amazing woman. Brenda, I'm so grateful to have you in my life. I can't wait until Bryan comes home and we get to have babies together and they will get to play together. I love you!