Twenty and Counting

This picture was taken at a company event just a few short weeks after I started

Today is my twentieth anniversary at Nouveau.  My how time flies.  Don't start doing the math, but here is how it all stacks up.  I had been out of college exactly one year when I started at Nouveau.  One month after I hired on here, I celebrated my first wedding anniversary.  Fourteen months after I started, I had my first child.

I pretty much experienced every one of my firsts right here at Nouveau!  My first time to take a trip on an airplane.  You guessed it.  Headed to Bentonville.  By myself.  I remember being so worried about finding the right gate that I forgot to be worried about the flight itself.  Turns out that I'm not a nervous flyer.  Just one that suffers from a little nausea.  The entire flight I prayed that I wouldn't throw up.

My first time to pass out?  Trip to Atlanta for a Walmart meeting.  We were waiting for our table at dinner and I apparently lost consciousness for a few minutes.  I had a real Steel Magnolias moment, because one of the ladies we were traveling with advised that they have me drink orange juice.  Only, I am not diabetic and I wasn't going all Shelby on them.  I was just sitting there calmly trying to figure out how I ended up on the floor.  I was also checking to make sure that I was not wearing a dress, because that would be so embarrassing.  My co-workers were hungry.  When our table was ready, they just pulled me up off the floor and walked me to the table and fed me some steak.  No visit to the doctor.  They did call my room periodically to make sure that I was still alive.  Oh, and they made me call Fred and tell him what happen.  His response?  "So?  What am I supposed to do?"  I love that man.  He really tells it like it is on most days.

I developed and broke a hard core Coke habit while working here.  We're talking HARD CORE.  I lived for my Cokes.  I don't even know how many I drank a day.  Cokes are a quarter a piece at this amazing company.  They were a quarter on the day that I walked into the old building on Chennault 20 years ago and they are still a quarter today.  Do you know what that means?  One dollar and I have FOUR Cokes, people!  Years ago, I decided to break the habit, because I drank so many it was ridiculous.  Now, I only have an Excedrin habit.   I feel you judging me.  Please don't.

I have seen my babies grow up.  One is about to be 19 and the other is 15.  I have seen my co-workers' babies grow up.  I have seen sweet friends pass away and the family members of friends pass away.

I've said goodbye to so many good, good friends as they've moved on to new adventures.  That is always so hard.  I miss so many of the people that I've worked with through the years, but I know that they are doing bigger and better things.  I am grateful for their friendship and for all the time that we worked together.  I am grateful for all that they taught me.

I said goodbye to Pat and Evan.  The amazing couple that founded Nouveau.  They taught me so many things.  I enjoyed working with Pat and learning from her.  Most everything I know, I feel that I learned from her.  I owe so much to her.

I am so thankful for where Nouveau is today.  For the wonderful people that I work with and the fun projects that I get to work on each and everyday.  I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to have spent the last 20 years right here.