Saving Connections

My friend Jeana and I just went to a bridal shower for Chris. It took me an hour to get there but I really wanted to go because she has been connected to me for years. Chris literally was my first employee when I started my Memories Complete business back in 1999. At that time, we were creating high-end custom scrapbooks for people out in Connecticut - the "Tiffany's of Scrapbooking" is what it became.Chris was just starting college and had been referred to me by a dear friend as someone who could help put the pages and albums together. This and many more of her admirable qualities proved to show themselves over the course of those first years.Chris then went on a year and a half mission for the LDS church to Japan (can you believe it!) and after she finished riding her bike through monsoons and learning a new language she returned home to the US to find that my brother, Kent and I had expanded Memories Complete and were now manufacturing our own product for the craft industry.I relocated to Utah to run this business and Chris stepped right in as an invaluable resource and worker as we worked to get our fledgling business off the ground.Years have passed since then and she was with us through every stage of Memories Complete - from working out of the garage at my apartment building to finding a warehouse and choosing scratch and dent furniture to fill it. She's sold product like mad at trade shows, met impossible deadlines, learned to be a graphic designer and created new product for us.Chris has always been by my side, connected to all the major events and the insignificant day to day happenings that entail building a business from scratch. We have a history.And when I think of our history together, I am simply grateful that we were lucky enough to have someone stick with us, work hard for us, and often save us when we needed it.She doesn't work for me anymore. I decided I wanted to focus on my licensed design work so we sold off the manufacturing side of the business a year and a half ago. Chris had graduated with a graphic design degree and had a great new job so it worked out positively for everyone.But it doesn't discount the fact that I have a connection with Chris. A saving connection, quite honestly. She made my life easier in so many ways and I'm lucky to have known her.Do you have a person that has connected to you? Maybe you haven't known them for as long as I've known Chris. In fact, many meaningful connections can last just a moment and still make an impact. Who has been a saving connection for you? Someone who has made things just a little easier. Someone who you think of fondly when your memory travels back to them. Was it a stranger or a long-time friend? A family member or a neighbor? Is there anyone that you can view in a new light and recognize their saving connection to you?Take a minute today to think about this: Who is your saving connection?Consider forwarding this post on to your "saving connection" and let them know that they had an impact on your life. Let me know how it goes...