This much I know...

Everything you do in life has a purpose or meaning.  I know there are a lot of people out there who will disagree with me, but let me tell you why I believe this before you disagree.

In high school I couldn't decide which college I wanted to attend.  Although I'd received scholarships to various schools of merit, none of them really spoke to me.  Then, one day, some college recruiters came to my high school (their alma mater) and blew me away!  I wanted to be a part of that type of excitement.  So, I'd set my mind on that college, and nothing less would be acceptable.  I applied (late) and waited.

Nothing.

The other offers began to dwindle, and still nothing.

I was so disappointed and discouraged that I'd decided to blow college off and join the military.  I took the ASVAB, provided them with my medical records.  Everything moved quickly.  My parents disagreed, but I didn't care.  I was going to do what I wanted.

Then, I received a letter in the mail welcoming me to my dream college!  But, I hadn't received a welcome packet from the college itself, it was from my campus liaison.

How was that possible?  Had I really been accepted, or was this a cruel joke of the universe?

Nope, it was true.  It was all true.  I'd made it, and literally only moments before I signed my name on the dotted line for the U.S. Army.

In so many ways, my life has had many moments like this one, each one speaking louder and louder to me and directing my life in some marvelous way.

One of those moments lead me to meet my guest this week at Romancing the Pen.  Truly a friend and a fabulous author, Charmaine Gordon.

She has truly lived an exciting and interesting life from the stage to TV to writing to family and friends.

Join me this week at Romancing the Pen as I welcome her once again.

It was 2:30 a.m. when the phone rang. I fumbled for it, my heart starting a race toward bad news. Our doctor s voice urged me to hurry. I crammed into clothes as if I expected this call. It is only a fever that won t go down, isn't it? Our doctor shook his head. ...We did everything possible to save him. I held him in my arms when he took his last breath. Carly, I m so sorry. Settling in beside my Bob, I held his cooling hand and asked the two words spoken many times during our years together. Now what? This time there was no response. I was on my own for the first time. When my fingers touched his wedding ring, I slipped it off and held it in my fist. The gold band was warm. I clung to him. Come back to me, dearest. Sometimes what you wish for is more than you can live with.