Friendship

I am SO excited to introduce to you one of my favorite bloggers, my friend, Aunie.

 

From the moment I found her blog and read through her posts, I knew that she was someone I would be friends with in 'real life'. Through our emails back and forth, our friendship has blossomed and I am proud to have her as my very first guest blogger.

You're going to love her as much as I do. On to you Aunie!

 

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Hello lovely ladies! 

My name is Annelise and I blog over at the little blog called Aunie Sauce.

I'm the girl who is "not." 

NOT a mom. NOT a graphic designer. NOT a gourmet cook. 

So, what am I? 

A 20-something swanky Idahoan who blogs about

faith, personal style, what's on my heart and daily shenanigans.

Let's just say, Aunie Sauce is NOT your average blog.

As I mentioned above, I often blog about what's on my heart.

It can be anything from the way I'm feeling,

to thoughts, misgivings, doubts, and even overwhelmingly amazing feelings.

Lately, I've been so awe-stricken and inspired by how many incredible bloggers there are out there.

Bloggers like Lyndsay.

Bloggers who write one small email to say hello,

and the next thing you know-- 

you feel like you've known each other your whole lives.

Has that ever happened to you?

For me, I meet new people every single day. 

And each new email, each new tweet, each message...

they all bring me closer together to someone who I can really call a friend.

I know some people get overwhelmed when they have an inbox full of emails.

If my waiting emails are about giveaways, sponsor stuff, blogging blah-blah...

yes, that can get overwhelming.

But when I get emails that are titled, "Words," or "Just want to say hi,"

I love reading those.

They are usually the first emails that I open.

Meeting friends, having love for others who I've never met in person, and just sharing the stories of our lives is my favorite thing.

Friendship is beautiful.

Sharing your heart is so lovely.

And sharing my heart and having a friendship with people who I have never met,

is definitely one of my favorite things about blogging.

Blogging is not about being famous.

It's not about making gazillions of dollars.

It's not about taking perfect photos.

Blogging is a community.

It's a support system.

It's a lifestyle...

And a lifestyle that I am so blessed to be a part of.

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I'm Yours Forever, My Love



 

Yesterday (8/23) was the anniversary of when my husband proposed to me four years ago. So of course I was feeling sentimental all day. But on the way home a song I'd never heard before came onto the Christian station I listen to all the time. It brought tears to my eyes because it is just so fitting with how I feel about him and how the Lord brought us together. With our three year wedding anniversary coming up in September, I have been reminiscing of old memories and how we fell in love. I thought I would share the lyrics with you...

 

I used to walk this town

with my head hanging down

I felt so alone

I was so close to giving up

lost all hope in love

so far from home

 

Thank you for finding me when you did

You changed my life, now I believe

that love is all that I'll ever need

I promise my heart and all that I am

I'm yours forever my love

 

You came and you rescued me

showed me life as its meant to be

so beautiful

you love me so differently

chase all my fears away

I'm finally whole

 

Thank you for finding me when you did

you changed my life, now I believe

that love is all that I'll ever need

I promise my heart and all that I am

I'm yours forever my love

--Yours Forever by Dara MacLean--

 

All My Love,

Lyndsay



The Life of a Conductor's Wife

My husband, Ryan,  is a freight conductor for the railroad. But above all, hes the conductor of my heart. =P

When you think conductor you may think of the guy standing outside of the passenger trains yelling "All Aboard" But that's not what a freight conductor does. They don't carry passengers, they carry hazardous chemicals, coal and other various items. Conductors do everything except 'drive' the train. Ryan has to do so much and he has to know even more. Its not a job most people could do. But as hard as his job is, I feel that it is just as hard to be the wife of one of these guys.

He has no work schedule. He works on call all of the time. They have a system they can log into on the computer to see what out they are. When I say what out they are, that means there's a list of all the conductors in order of who's next to be called. If he is head out, he is next to be called. If he is 3rd out, he probably has anywhere from half a day to a whole day before he gets called. We never know. Because of this unpredictable schedule, he misses holidays, birthdays, anniversaries and more. Its hard. But its worth it. Its enabled us to live comfortably. He makes what is called a guarantee. Meaning he cannot make less than a certain amount for being on call. They pretty much pay him for sitting around and waiting for a phone call. When he works he gets paid by the day/job so he always beats the guarantee. Some jobs pay more than others and he works all over the place.

I am alone 85 to 90 percent of the time. When he gets called to work, they give him a two hour notice. They can call anytime day or night. If he gets called for an out of town job he could be gone over night or for up to 3 days. They cant work for more than 12 hours so by the time they get the train to where it needs to go, they are out of time and stay in a hotel for their rest. If its a local job they come home. They get a mandatory 10 hours of rest after each job they work. So once their rest is over and if everything with the train is on time, they will be on their way back. Some trips, like to Russell Kentucky, they have a turn around of 24 hours. Which means once they get the train there they are stuck in a hotel for a day. So if he leave Tuesday afternoon, they get there in the middle of the night, stay in the hotel for a day and he doesn't get home until Thursday evening, assuming everything ran on time. There's so much more to it, but you get the gist, right?

Like I said, it's lonely. It takes a strong relationship and good communication to get through it. Trust is a big thing. The divorce rate for employees of the railroad is higher than the national percentage. That's crazy, right? But its true. If you think about it, my husband can be in 4 to 5 different cities depending on what job he gets called for, just staying in a hotel. Would most women be okay with their husbands staying in a hotel out of town? I don't think so. But its a job to him, not any sort of opportunity. Communication is key. We text each other, talk on the phone, and even have web cams so we can see each other if the loneliness gets too bad. We keep each other informed of whats going on. I don't even want to talk about how dangerous his job it, I worry constantly.

I was never good at being alone. I pretty much revolved my life around my husband before he got this job. I am no longer that way. Although I still need him very much, I have my own independence now. I have become involved in many different things that keep me busy so I don't feel the loneliness so much. I work a full time job from 8:30 to 4:30 Monday through Friday and sometimes hes home when I'm at work. Or Ive scheduled something thinking he's probably going to be out of town and hes not. So theres even times that its not his job keeping us apart. Its a very difficult balancing act. Trying to do what we need to do and still make time for each other and keep our marriage strong.

This life isn't for everyone and its been so hard at times. But we have adjusted and believe it or not have gotten into a routine. We value each other more, trust each other more, communicate more and to be honest I think it has made our marriage stronger. I wouldn't have said this a year and a half ago when all of this started, but I wouldn't trade this life for the world. I am so proud of my husband for what he does and how hard he works. I know its even harder on him that he has to be away and miss things I know he very much wants to be able to go to. But he does it all with no complaining and he truly loves his job. Who wouldn't love riding on trains all of the time?

So theres a glimpse into my life. I wasn't planning on writing this when I picked up my computer, but my husband left today for work and its was on my heart.

Life of a Conductor's Wife FAQ post, click here!

Life of a Conductor's Wife: Kids post, click here!