Stacey's Birthday and Derek's going away party

Saturday night was a busy night. We had two parties to attend. First up was Stacey's birthday party. Stacey was my trainer when I first started at Nationwide 9 years ago, so we have been helping each other celebrate birthdays for almost a decade.

After Stacey's party we went to Derek's party. Derek and I met back when Carissa and I spent a lot of time at CABCo. We lost contact for a while, but met up last year when he started working at Nationwide. Since then we have grabbed coffee a few times a month.

A few months ago Derek decided he needed to make a change. He didn't like his job, and was ready to make a commitment to a new life. So he joined the Army. He's signed up for eight years, and because he never finished his degree he is not going in as an officer. Next week he ships off to basic training. I'm really proud of him. I think this change will be good for him. And I'm not just saying that because I want to visit him if he's stationed in Europe.