KINDRED SPIRITS

I talk about K and Ash on this blog quite a bit, in fact I gave a brief synopsis of our current lives a few months ago. BUT I don't think I've ever told the story of how we met. In fact I was looking through my journals and I haven't written it down either. I just start talking about them all of a sudden. So with the guilt of doing my own family history at the forefront of my mind here is the story.

Eight months after I moved from Okinawa, Japan to Plano, Texas I had a few friends but none that Anne Shirley would call kindred spirits. Kristin and I knew each other through a mutual friend but we had never spent much time together. Our church meetings met at different times and we went to different high schools. Through this mutual friend the three of us agreed to be girls camp counselor partners together. After the first few girls camp planning meetings our mutual friend ended up ditching us to be partners with another girl. So Kristin and I were stuck together by default - planning and preparing to counsel a group of 12 year old girls. Of course we ended up having a hoot and we were quickly enlightened that it was met to be us two all along.

A month or so later we went off to girls camp. All the youth camp counselors got to stay in the coveted three sided cabin. When I say coveted, I mean COVETED. Subsequent years at that camp proved near fatal in the bloodshed fought over who got to stay in that cabin. See it was huge and it didn't have any beds so you got to sleep wherever, even the bug infested pool table was up for grabs. And the un-walled side? It was actually a deck overlooking the lake. It was different, it was party central, and of course everyone wanted to stay there. So there we are, a dozen 16 year-old-girls that all looked a hot mess. And since we didn't have many responsibilities (we were too old to do any of the camp activities and too young to be directors) we basically sat around, snuck cereal out of the cafeteria cabin (sorry Sister Davis), and made each other laugh. I don't believe more fun was ever had by a group of sun burned, badly bug bitten girls. So I went from a few acquaintances to a entire group of friends. Ashley was in that group. I had seen her sing at a stake youth fireside when I first moved to Texas, and Kristin and Ashley had met before had never hung out. See Ashley's church meetings were at a different time then mine or Kristin's and she went to the third high school in Plano. So the three of us became close at girls camp but afterwards we ended up calling each other for every weekend activity. From there we were just best friends.

A little over a year later we had to decide our freshman year roommates while applying for BYU (one of the cruelties of the system - you apply for housing before you're accepted, isn't that depressing when one of you doesn't get in?). We applied to live in David John Hall in a shared four person suite with a bathroom. Ashley was going to live with a girl from her ward (our other close friend Sage) and Kristin and I lived in the adjoining room. I remember millions of people saying off handed comments like, "That friendship won't last," or "You guys are going to HATE each other by the end of freshman year." Well we didn't always love each other but we did mostly get along. From there I lived with either Kristin or Ashley and mostly both until I got married nearly 6 years later. TAKE THAT HATERS!

We've been through awful relationship decisions. Even worse hair decisions. And living all over the US (and K in London for four months). And guess what? We are still friends. I think if we've made it through these past 10 years the next 50 won't be a problem. The only problem now is that our husbands probably won't let us live next to each other like we always planned. Which is okay because it gives us an excuse for girls week once a summer.

Now if you are ever around us and you need to understand our Isms, here is a guide:

Come back for anything, ANYTHING: Your mom.

If something is too expensive: What, did Brad Pitt pee on it?

If someone does something typical: She wooooould (in a deep voice).

And you need to know that our default movie for any occasion or quote is Center Stage.

Girls Camp Summer 1999

End of BYU freshman year April 2002

Ashley's Wedding September 2005

My wedding June 2007

Kristin's Wedding October 2009