“We all have an unsuspected reserve of strength inside that emerges when life puts us to the test”. This is a quote from the book “Island Beneath the Sea” by Isabel Allende which I read after suffering from a miscarriage. Reading several books somehow helped me recover from the pain and frustration;

and it also made me realize that if I look around me and acknowledge everything that I have, there are still a lot of reasons to be happy and be grateful for. And so I started to count and acknowledge my blessings.

Meeting Angie for the First Time

I was running around our neighborhood one morning when I met Angie. She caught up with me and casually said “hi”. A quick introduction followed which led to a whole hour of chat. The rest is history – as the proverbial saying goes because since then, we started becoming good friends. We hit it off instantly like two long-lost sisters.

I would sometimes invite her at home for some coffee and “girl talk” after our morning runs, and we even enrolled in a baking class together. Angie became my confidante and adviser; and she’s one of the reasons why, for the first time, I was genuinely happy about moving to Miami. 

A Friendship Was Born

Todd became fond of Angie as well because she’s been extremely helpful and supportive of me. Even though she’s a divorcee, she’s maintained a calm and positive personality. She also likes to do a lot of things. During one of our baking sessions, we came up with the idea of promoting and selling our cupcakes.

She posted our finished products in her social media accounts and encouraged those who are hosting parties, dinners and events to order cupcakes and cake pops from us. Being a realtor, she has a wide network of friends and acquaintances. And soon enough, we scored one event – a kiddie birthday party!

100 Cupcakes and a Disaster

And so we got our first order of 100 cupcakes from a neighbour whose son would be celebrating a birthday party. We went all the way with the ingredients and presentation; and spent one whole morning baking cupcakes in Angie’s modern kitchen. Just as we were about to finish the last batch, a disaster happened.

Water came spilling all over the kitchen floor from under the counter and it was getting out of control. I opened the cabinet underneath the sink and checked where it was coming from and noticed a heavy leak from one of the pipes. Had I been alone, I would have easily panicked; but Angie knew exactly what to do. 

That’s one thing that impresses me the most about her. She has grace under pressure and she can handle any situation with poise and composure. She immediately called specialists for water damage residents usually rely on and explained the problem calmly.

After that, we took the last batch of cupcakes from the oven and transferred them on a cooling rack as if nothing happened. We covered the floor with absorbent kitchen rags and started boxing some of the cupcakes. 

The Water Damage Specialist

When the doorbell rang which signaled the arrival of the water repairman, Angie opened the front door for him. When she got back into the kitchen, she was wearing her widest smile and her eyes were motioning me to look over behind her.

And then I saw the “water damage specialist” which turned out to be a real hunk. I had an inkling right then that I might be seeing less of Angie in the next few weeks or months. And I was right about the weeks. 

A Silver Lining

Life has its own way of testing our patience to determine our breaking point. We may never understand it but these challenges can actually give us valuable lessons. I know that what I’ve gone through is nothing compared to what other people may be experiencing right now. That’s why I’m still thankful; and I consider myself blessed despite of everything. 

Being in the dark for quite some time also made me appreciate what it’s like to be under the sun. And amidst all the pains and frustrations, I’ve come across three realizations – the world has given me a new friend in Angie, I learned to appreciate my husband’s silent support, and I learned that every dark cloud has a silver lining on it if we’ll try to look closely enough. And for that, I’m extremely grateful.