a tribute to kelsey

Kelsey:

a. the only one of my best friends who lives in the same city as I do.

b. the only one who understands my weird obsessions with Martha Stewart, books, Coldplay... really the only one who understands how ridiculous I can be.

c. probably the coolest freshman girl I know.

(at Coldplay, may 2009 - I know the lady behind me looks like she doesn't belong at a Coldplay concert, however, the demographics for that event were quite interesting.)

Kelsey and I have known each other for a long, long time - probably since third and fourth grade. or before. who knows. However, it wasn't until we were fifteen and sixteen, on a bus on the way back from choir tour in Kansas, that we really got to know each other. We bonded over music - John Mayer, to be specific. What better thing to do on a 14 hour bus ride than to listen to Why Georgia and talk about the brilliance of John's songwriting/guitar playing? It only went up from there... Corinne Bailey Rae, Coldplay... whatever it was that we loved to listen to at that point in our lives, we talked about. The past four years have been filled with multiple lunch/coffee/dinner dates, concerts, snail mail, weekend visits, heart to hearts... I'm starting to sound so cheesy. But I love her and our friendship. I really do.

Today (or yesterday, I guess) was Kelsey's 19th birthday. To celebrate, we ate at Amsterdam. Don't even get me started on how much we love that place... crab cakes and steak and mashed potatoes with truffles and sweet potato chips and chocolate spoon cake and mint cheesecake... all downed. We were members of the clean plate club several times over. The rest of the night was spent making Valentine's Day cards and listening to Lady Gaga. It was a marvelous time. So here's to friendship - may your days also be filled with loving, trustworthy, hilarious friends.