Happy birthday to one of the dearest people to me on this planet.

Kat, had I known that we would be kicking off a life-long friendship, I would have smartly start our conversations after our Introduction to Literature class freshman year, instead of being shocked to see you—who I considered the smartest mind of any of my peers—with the dance team at a Delta Chi house party.

But of course, I also couldn’t know that you would–at my request–chop off my hair in a hotel bathroom in Virginia Beach a few months later.

That our largest fight would be due to me rearranging the furniture in our sophomore year dorm room.

That we would be together on a fateful day in September of 2001 where the world seemed to have shifted on its axis.

That we’d sit on your bed and cry when Dawson’s dad died.

And that whether divided by states or by continents, yours would be an opinion I would seek out on all of my life’s significant decisions.
Nearly 15 years later, with weddings, pets, careers and babies, there’s absolutely no way I could have known how valuable your friendship would be to me.

And, I don’t know now, where the future will take us. Whether we’ll ever live on the same coast, let alone in the giant farm house we used to joke about inhabiting – enjoying life as old ladies who knit, read and drink gin on Tuesday afternoon.

What I know now though is that I wouldn’t trade anything for the years we’ve had together and the fun times that are sure to come.

Our shared love of a good story is, I believe, a pivotal point for this friendship. And what are good friends anyway, if not the keepers of your life’s stories. It doesn’t matter to me if no one reads this blog but you, me and our moms (Hi moms!), I’m thrilled that there is something keeping us together that is uniquely ours and a record of this friendship I treasure so much.

So, I hope you have the most beautiful, relaxing day with your guys, and an amazing year. If I have my way, I’ll be hauling my butt across the country to get a look at your gorgeous face in person in the very near feature.
Much love,
Lo