Happy Birthday Dear Jennifer!

The 4th of July is a very special day in 2 regards. Of course we get to celebrate the birth of this glorious nation that we live in and all of the freedoms that we are blessed with, but we also get to celebrate the birth of one of my dearest friends, Jennifer. (I will refrain from using her last name since she probably would appreciate that I don't). Of course everyone is different and unique, but I can promise you that if you don't know Jennifer, you haven't met anyone like her... (and you are definitely missing out!

I met Jennifer when I started Synchronized Swimming. She of course was one of the best in our age group and even better than some of the older girls. I don't know how others felt when they first met her, but I seriously thought she was so cool. She didn't care what anybody else thought of her and she felt free to tell you exactly how she felt, no matter what. We must have been 9 years old and she invited me to her house for a Halloween party and I thought that was the coolest thing ever! From that time forward, Jennifer was a staple in my life. Her parents were my parents and even though we went to different high schools, we were inseparable. We swam on the same swim team in the summers around age 13, we had all of the same jobs, whether it was working the snack bar, coaching Synchronized Swimming or working at Sunflower.

I was talking to Dustin the other day about Jennifer because something reminded me of her. We were so different in so many ways. I have always been a people pleaser and she could care less what others thought of her, she was an extremely talented swimmer and Water Polo player (far better than me), she is so funny, she is so creative. She was everything I wanted to be and wasn't. The only thing that we were both really good at, was being each other's friend. In fact Jennifer is one of the best friends you could have. Some of my fondest memories in the world are with her and I am reminded of her all of the time by the most random of things, but they are memories that I treasure forever. Since she lives across the country, we don't get to see each other much. The last time was at my wedding which was almost 7 years ago, but no matter what, she will always be one of my very best friends. I am sure she is going to be so bugged when she reads this because she hates it when I write long posts. (I had to return the birthday tribute favor.) Honestly, you only have to read a couple of posts on her blog to get a glimpse of how funny she is and the places her mind goes. She is one of the most special people that I know.
I love you Jennifer and I hope you had the happiest birthday! Here's to joining the ranks of the big 3-0!

August of 1995 - Just before leaving for the famous WCSC Sausalito Dinner. Too funny that I spent my life with this girl and yet we have very few pictures together... or maybe I just need to track some down from my mom.