Friday, February 20, 2009

JENN-Y

Today is Jennifer's birthday. Happy Birthday, Jenn!
Jennifer and I met in January of 2004, when we both were selected to be Camp War Eagle counselors. We didn't really get to know each other well until halfway into the summer, when eight of us hit the road to spend Fourth of July weekend in Gulf Shores. Our friendship especially progressed in the fall, when we had the good fortune of taking a journalism class together, which involved lots of time together outside of the classroom. Come to think of it, we had another journalism class together that spring. And we lived in dorms that were side by side, so it was a natural friendship.
Our first real adventure together was Gulf Shores. Our second adventure was the Tigercub program for that first journalism class (after school tutoring/mentor program with high schoolers from a poor area close to our campus - I'll tell you all about it one day). Our third adventure together was Spring Break, when we decided at the last minute to rent a hotel room in Destin and spend the second half of the week there. It was a week of many, many laughs and many, many memories.
Jennifer spent her summer with Camp War Eagle again (lucky) and I headed up to Nashville for my internship. One weekend, she came to visit me and it was then that I heard about this Wes fellow that she had begun seeing. Near the end of the summer, she came back through Nashville and brought Wes with her.

Fast forward to a year later, when we were driving around Decatur for the wedding of our friend Leslie. Jenn mentioned she thought Wes was The One. Good thing he and I got to know each other pretty well that weekend, because a few weeks later, he proposed.
Bored at work (...or was that just me?), Jenn and I e-mailed for months about detail after detail and it truly was a fun, festive time. I got to attend lots of parties, including lingerie and bachelorette. And when the big day came, I was honored to not only sing in their wedding, but stand by Jennifer as a bridesmaid. Since then, Jenn and Wes have settled in Birmingham and become happy little homemakers, complete with a blog, a dog and fence.

Jenny Jenn, I hope you know how lucky I am to count you as a friend. I love all your different traits - you are gentle but tough, sweet but guarded, supportive but honest. At a time when I needed someone who had "been in my shoes," you were there with a listening ear. I can't believe I have known you five years! You are one of those people who is just naturally good at everything you do: writing or decorating, managing camp counselors or managing a web site, leading a sorority or leading a Tiger Talk - you do it all gracefully. That's the word I think of when I think of Jennifer - you beam grace. It's reflected in your smile, in your words, and in your home. I hope your birthday weekend is fantastic and that your 25th year is your best year yet!

3 comments:

  1. Very well put for a fabulous birthday girl.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Happy Late Birthday, Jen! Hope you've had a fun weekend of celebration!!!

    ReplyDelete

Oh goody!

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