Thankful for Fingerprints

by: Amy Christensen Malan

Let me first begin by saying "THANK YOU" to Rochelle for her sweet words and for the fun memories we have together. I can assure you Rochelle, that I was the lucky one in our friendship!

This is quite the daunting task to choose ONE woman in my life who I'd like to highlight... So I'm not going to.  Sorry Rochelle...Instead I will break my life up into parts - because each part represents a very different me and each fingerprint has molded me into who I am today and ultimately who I want to be someday. Of course, these are not the only women that have left fingerprints on my soul, fortunately for me there have been many.

Early on was my mom. My mom is an amazing person. I don't know how she has stayed (relatively) sane all these years with everything that she has gone through (and I've put her through)... Always willing to do anything she can to help ANYONE. I have learned so much and continue to learn so much about service through her. And I enjoy service now because of her influence. Thank you Mom!

Growing Up  

I have been fortunate to have many amazing friends. It was really difficult to be the new kid in town when I moved to Idaho - luckily I found a great group that welcomed me in, including Rochelle Foster, Jennifer Howell and Stephanie Smith.  These friends were my stability when my world was upside down due to family struggles and relocating to a new state. I don't think these friends know how difficult of a time I was having at home. Rochelle's family made me see that families could be happy together, and that was definitely something that I needed to know in those days. Like in Rochelle's previous post, I don't know why we stopped being friends or "lost" each other.  I too believe that we were in each others lives for a reason, and we grew up, got into different things in high school, and evolved into new friendships. I don't feel like we ever weren't friends, we just chose different paths. Thank you for sharing your path with me for awhile Friends, I do believe we can pick up where we all detoured?

Adult(ish) 

Someone that I have always admired and have been thinking about a lot lately is a former boss and incredible woman named Mary Lee Hill.  Mary Lee was a real estate broker that hired me as her receptionist while I was going to college. Mary Lee was everything I wanted to be. A great mom, a wonderful friend, a supportive wife, a contributing citizen, intelligent and successful.  I loved her boldness and "don't mess with me attitude", and I do thank her for teaching me that. I started working for Mary Lee during a very difficult time of my life. I was struggling with who I was, and where I was headed. Mary Lee taught me to do what I wanted to do, to make the effort and get it done - that it was worth, and I owed it to myself.  The friendships and experiences I gained while working there are priceless to me. I saw amazingly, talented and hard working women every day. I knew that I wanted to be them - and to someday have the same friendships they shared, and to BE the same sort of friend. Mary Lee also unknowingly showed me that marriage could work, and not only work but be worth it. Recently Mary Lee's husband Ted passed away. I was fortunate to work for Ted as well. He was a second father to me. Kind hearted, hard working and just an all around wonderful person. I miss my "Real Estate Office" family. I honestly owe my views of marriage and family to Mary Lee and Ted Hill. Thank you for including me in your family.

Military Wife 

When I married Matt, I was unaware of what the future held. I knew that he was active duty in the Air Force, but I definitely did not understand what that meant. Fortunately for me, Leslie Boutwell and I became friends when Matt and I were stationed in Okinawa, Japan. We were assigned to an F-15 Fighter squadron.  Saying I was scared is a complete understatement. Matt was not a pilot, but was the squadrons Flight Surgeon which meant Matt would be the physician for the pilots and their families. This also meant that any deployments the squadron would be tasked, Matt would go too. Unfortunately, the longest and most stressful deployment came when I was pregnant.  Pregnancy

hormones alone, I was a mess. Leslie was my sanity. She checked on me constantly and assured me that I was not alone. She helped me to look at the deployment with pride, and acceptance instead of pity. This dear friend set the tone for me and gave me an amazing example of a true military wife that I continue to strive to be. Anyone who knows Leslie will agree with me. She is not the only amazing military wife out there,  there are numerous.  For this, I am thankful and I can say with pride that I survived that deployment and many more because of their fingerprints.

Mom

It might seem strange to include my daughter in this blog. For me, it is not possible to think of people who have left a fingerprint on my soul without thinking of Emersyn.  She brings out the best possible me.  She has such confidence in me to be the best mom, that I can't help but do everything in my power to be that Mom. And what's even more important I AM HER MOM - there is no other person I would rather be.
It was quite a task getting pregnant with her, and bringing her into this world. It seemed like every possible problem that could be...was. She is my miracle child, my one and only. My most favorite girl in the entire world and definitely without a doubt, the most influential person in my life. She reminds me to see the good in the world, to appreciate what I have - and not focus on what I don't have, to smile at strangers and make friends whenever possible, to NEVER give up, to share (the road... especially in traffic), to look forward to rain puddles, be silly and DANCE whenever there is music.  Furthermore, I believe that I've needed her fingerprint in my life to reassure me that good things come to those who are patient and don't give up!

Thank you again Rochelle for letting me add my thoughts. We truly do not give each other enough credit as women. There is always space for more then one friend!  Thank to all the women who have supported and influenced me. I hope that I can repay the favor and pass your truths on!