How ironic that our journey all began at David’s Bridal in Fort Wayne.
Who would have thought that my future sister-in-law
would introduce me to such a posse of Taylor Alumni
- one of them being you!?! I’m delighted she did
- even if that means I’ll forever be thought of as a Taylor Alum.
That’s not a bad thing, I assure you.
It just creates a lot of confusion considering it isn’t true.
Little did we know that we’d be doing
plenty of wedding shopping in the future.
Of course, not for our own weddings,
but that of our roommates.
The nerve of them to skulk off and get married.
Oh wait – they didn’t really skulk – I just like that word.
It’s more like they frolicked away to get married.
Yes, they frolicked – good for them!
It was good of our roommates
to simultaneously decide to tie the knot.
Their choice to leave us high and dry in the roommate world
at the same time worked out well!
Thus began our roommate days.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure about living with you at first.
All I knew was that you were a sports loving, zany dancing,
if there’s a party, I’m there, kind of girl!
Oh but how I came to love all of these things about you and more!
Our Pointe Inverness Days are filled with bittersweet memories.
Mostly sweet.
Turns out the bitter actually brought us closer together.
I guess you could say together with God’s help
we turned coffee into lattes.
I must admit, after watching you go through a job loss and boy drama,
It certainly was nice to see the Lord bless you
with a new job and a new home – a fresh start.
In the time we’ve lived together, I’ve learned of your love
- or rather obsession - with jeans.
I must say – you have outstanding taste in jeans!
And then there’s scarefest – that’s what I’m calling it anyway.
Yes – all those years of you lurking around the corner
with the sole goal of hearing my shrilling screams.
And then sure to follow, after I got over the initial shock
and you had your uproarious laugh,
was your running away to hide from my return attack.
Come on – a girl with two older brothers
isn’t going to let you get away with frightening her all the time.
I’ll never walk around another corner
without suspecting a potential scarefest is imminent.
Thanks to you.
Who can forget the way we slipped and slid
down that long Pointe Inverness side walk in mid-winter?
And how ‘bout those bull frogs in the summer?
Too bad a simple kiss didn’t turn them into our princes.
After both experiencing our own heartbreaks
and finding the bullfrogs to NOT be quite prince worthy,
we decided to join the ranks of online dating.
What a trip! Oh the stories we have…too many to count.
My favorite is the “Mad Ants” basketball player
that you skunked at HORSE.
Who can forget his unfortunate fall
That lead him to moan and groan
Faking a hurt ankle to save his pride
And leaving grass stains on his side?
You were kind to give him a pity hug.
While none of those online dates worked out,
you must admit it was a beautiful season
of flowers and laughter in the bachelorette pad.
And while we’re on the topic of a beautiful season,
remember the Colts Christmas tree?
Now that was quite a dandy beauty!
Who would have thought you’d make a sports fan out of me?
Well, at least a Colts fan.
Your influence went farther than that though.
You turned this early to bed girl
into a late night girl on occasions,
especially when you’d break out the dance music
or when we’d get into late night conversations.
Sometimes they were silly exchanges.
Other times they were deep, meaningful theological discussions.
No matter what, I could count on
my dear Lutheran friend for a riveting chat.
You taught me new vocabulary,
or rather new meanings to words I already knew.
It would be inappropriate for me to list those here,
so we’ll just keep that between you and me.
There are many random things I appreciate about you.
Like how you love taking clothes fresh out of the dryer
And dumping them on top of you in mid-winter,
Following up with a declaration of “but they’re so warm”
after I give you a quizzical look.
And then there’s your adorable habit of changing
into your basketball shorts at the end of a long work day
while leaving your work shirt on.
Love this look on you!
I’ll forever think of you when I have two bites left over after eating out
And know that without a shadow of a doubt
that if you were present, you would say,
“Oh you should totally take that to go. It will be a good snack later!”
I’m going to miss your random “let ‘em rip” moments
As well as your incessant gravitation toward anything sweet
And of course your casual swigs of pop from a two-liter.
I’ll miss having you there to ask, “can I have a sip”
of whatever beverage I’m drinking.
This after you’ve already taken a sip!
We’ve certainly had our share of
throwing some great parties together!
Games, good friends, food, and fun
were always a guarantee at our festivities.
It didn’t matter if there was a reason to celebrate.
We certainly wasted no time in coming up with one.
Thanks for extending an open invitation
to always celebrate life to the fullest.
I’ve never seen a girl with such couponing skills.
As much as we laugh about it and call you the coupon queen,
I’m never ceased to be amazed at how you always
have something in stock to give to someone in need.
Your generous heart has often impacted me for the better.
I love your willingness to always
be honest, up front, and talk things through.
While there are distinct differences between us,
we certainly haven’t let that get in the way.
Your loyalty, perseverance, and team player mindset
are all qualities I admire about you.
And I’ll always cherish our prayer times together.
Oh what sweet memories of our four years together
I hold in my treasure trove.
So thankful this is simply a “see ya later”.
Even so, just want to recognize the closing of one chapter
and the beginning of another.
I dearly hope you’ll come visit me in Cali!
May you always know you’re loved and celebrated!
Not only by me and many others,
but by the God of the universe.
His love for you is beyond measure.
Drink it in and keep being
your passionate, random, beautiful, humorous self!
All my Love,
Jamie
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