Choosing My Vegas Traveling Companion
At the Bordas & Bordas Christmas party, the partners gave their employees a gift that I, along with most of the others, weren’t expecting. A TRIP TO VEGAS! Everyone was ecstatic and blown away. Not only was this for each employee, but the employee AND a guest. For anyone who was married, it was a no-brainer…you take your spouse, right? But for those of us who are single, you had a choice to make. Besides my oldest son, Ryan (who was my first choice but due to job responsibilities, couldn’t be my guest), I chose my dearest and closest lifelong friend, Pam McClure.
I met Pam when I was 16 years old and began working for Mobay in the Purchasing Department at the beginning of my senior year in high school. Pam was already an employee in the department. I don’t know what it was about either of our personalities, but we just “clicked”-- despite an age difference. From then until this day, Pam has been my very best friend and a huge part of my life. I have never doubted her friendship or loyalty. She is always there for me through the most difficult and best times of my life and she never hesitates when I need her. She was there through both of my parents’ deaths, the birth of my youngest son, Gage, a couple of medical procedures, my divorce, and heck, she even went to a few school functions and posed as my sons’ surrogate grandmother for Grandparents’ Day! To this day, both of my sons call her “Aunt Pammy.”
Pam is the kindest, most loving person I’ve ever known. She is an amazing mother, wife, grandmother, stepparent, sister and aunt. She is so adaptable to any environment or situation. She can be very classy on one hand and yet a tomboy on another. I have learned calmness, compassion, patience, respect and understanding from her. These are qualities I didn’t always have in my younger years. She has a terrific sense of humor, provides me with some of the best advice I’ve been given in my life and gives me her honest opinion on everything. She has taught me so much- not like conscientious teaching (“this piece of the puzzle goes here”), but just by how she listens to me when I have a problem and things she’ll say or how she’ll react. I remember her saying one time, “If I’m having an issue with more two people in my life, I might want to take a look in the mirror!” I have never forgotten that! Although, she did teach me about the “tool box” and how everyone has one. It’s all about what you put in yours and how you use each tool as each one serves a different purpose at different times. Pretty deep, right? But makes perfect sense. It took me years to understand and utilize my own toolbox.
I could go on and on about what and how Pam has been there for me, but this is supposed to be a blog, not a novel. She is just full of life and makes the most out of every opportunity. I’ve never known anyone like her and because she has never let me down, I wanted to show her my gratitude for the past 32 years by taking her as my guest on this trip. When I asked her, she said she was honored that I chose her for the trip. In all honesty, it is me who is honored that she accepted! I am very blessed and fortunate to have met her and to have her in my life.
