Last night I spoke to an old co-worker of mine from my days at Dillards.

I have to say, of all the people I’ve ever met, Vicki Ware ranks near the top of the list. She worked with me during a somewhat unstable period of my life as I was finishing up college. She was always very supportive and offered words of encouragement. I used to get pretty stressed out while balancing 40 hour weeks at work and 17 credit hours at school, all the while dealing with rather combative personalities in other parts of my life. She treated me like she treated her own kids. If I did or said something stupid, I certainly heard about it. I don’t think I ever really let her know how important a role she played in my life.

We kept in contact for quite a while after I moved on to Allstate, but eventually lost touch after she moved out-of-state. Jill and I wanted to invite her to the wedding, but had no idea how to locate her. We ended up finding an address on the internet, crossed our fingers that it was the right Vicki Ware, and sent the invitation.

Long story short - she can’t make the trip back to SC this weekend, but she was somehow able to get her phone number to Jill’s parents. I spoke to her yesterday evening and all is well with her. She has got to be one of the most caring people I’ve ever met. Perhaps one day she’ll Google her name and read about the impact she’s had on my life.