Dream Weaver

Hello readers. I have missed you.

Sometimes writing for the blog is intimidating because Erin’s beauty and eloquent words are overshadowing. Once she told me, "If it's not worth blogging about, don't do it." But today I am brave. I am woman. (<--- That's for you, Cat). 

This is a shout out to my girls. Erin has written many a kind word about me, but let me tell you: she is a survivor. Once Virginia (formerly known as Geny Kate Gurley), Cat & I were discussing which Hogwarts house we would represent. (If you don’t know what I’m referencing, quickly minimize this tab, read all seven Harrys, watch all eight movies, and re-open the tab).  Erin is the only one who hasn’t read Harry, so naturally I was going to make her Hufflepuff so that I could assume the position of Gryffindor. Cat & Geny Kate would NOT have it. Even though Erin thinks that Harry Potter is a murder mystery, she is Gryffindor to the bone. Erin is the most loyal friend you will ever have. There is no extremity that she will not go to (I write this as she drives to Kroger through a tornado watch to bring my Brussels sprouts... Cat if you're reading this, it's too late. The house already smells).

One time I ran a 5k and most of a half marathon (that’s a different story for another time) and beforehand Erin gave me a basket of everything I could need. Every morning when I wake up, despite my efforts to hold him back, Padfoot sprints into Erin’s room, bursts open the door, and burrows in her bed. Erin has never complained, and the one time she was annoyed with him she said, “Oh, but I love you buddy.” When Cat was craving a cherry pie (which is every day), she opened up the freezer and saw one there. Last week after I took a shower, Erin was in my room and wouldn’t let me in. She said, “Don’t come in, you’re naked.” When I still tried to come in, she said, “We’re ALL naked.” Once I was allowed into my own room, I saw she helped Padfoot decorate my wall!

Do not sit next to Erin in Church unless you want to be looked down upon for laughing.  (But don’t worry, if you don’t laugh at Erin’s jokes she won’t notice- she’s too preoccupied laughing at them herself).  Her sympathy is so deep that last week when Padfoot was sick she laid in my bed and kept saying, “We’re BOTH sick.” (Unrelated, she also had a 15-page paper due the next day).

There is no craft that Erin cannot make. While Cat and I survive on broccoli and BLTs, Erin will quickly throw together a gourmet lunch. She & Matthew McConaughey share a deep love for Texas (alright, alright, alright). She remembers that only God can judge ya, so forget the haters, Miley. Ellen Degeneres can do no wrong. She got up at 5:30 am to practice basketball because "Michael Jordan didn't sleep through the Final Four." Young Life is her life. Even though Rafiki took his sweet time responding to her two-page letter, she will always live by his example. She will never miss an episode of the Fosters. Her skateboard skills could rival "Tom Honks." She helped my friend Deborah Jones get through a really tough time & is always ready to provide cookie dough when Don is on the rocks. Once she had 5 ice cream cones in one weekend (Only 1.6 per day). No matter how much I bully her (no regrets) or a small black dog jumps on her face, or I decide that NOW (midnight) is the perfect time to vacuum the house, she still lets me sleep in her bed (as long as we can listen to Adventures in Odyssey).“Daring, nerve, and chivalry.” That's some good behavior!

#blassbox20

Annie turned twenty years old this past Saturday. Her last day as a teenager was spent in overalls because why wouldn’t it be. She requested that Teenage Dream be the last song of the night and even did a lap around her high school track as a “goodbye to innocence.” (lol @ my Endless Love reference- if you haven’t seen the movie: the boyfriend punches the dad, then the house burns down, then I tried to gouge my eyes out so I don’t even know). “A quarter of a mile for a quarter of my life,” she said. So that was morbid, but when it’s her party she can say what she wants to. (@mileycyrus)

Annie was born in the year of the dog. Perfect because she has one. On Tuesday, that dog, called Padfoot, decorated Annie’s room while she was in the shower. He didn’t finish in time and made her stand outside in the hallway in a towel because it was about him right then. Despite having small dog hands, he cut circles and letters like a professional circle and letter cutter. It was really sweet. He really loves her.

On Friday, the eve of her birth, we headed to Atlanta, Georgia: Land of the free, home of the Brave(s). Five girls, one car. Bagels and laughter. Car games and cuddling. All of the feels. After too many country songs, Laura told us she “just really loves us, guys.” On that note, Annie grabbed her bible and started calling the trip a “women’s retreat.” She opened the book to 2 Kings for a little encouragement and read us a highlighted passage. “He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, ‘Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” It was an encouraging time for all involved.

Then they took this real picture.

I guess maybe the highlight of that day was when we shared hot dogs and blue Powerade courtesy of dear friends named Joel and David, or when she compared and contrasted Kimbrel’s fiery entrance at Turner Field to what Heaven will be like with Beth. But I think Annie most appreciated the firework show I asked Coach Braves to put on for her. That’s because just as her name lit up the sky and the entire stadium sang happy birthday to her, John Krasinski walked up behind her and told her he [platonically (hi, Emily Blunt)] loved her and that she was everything.

Atlanta is also the land of the Eastern Time zone. In other words, we were so excited to celebrate Anne Dearman Blass’ life that we literally time traveled in order to party an hour earlier. By party I mean car dance to Young, Wild, and Free, and decide whether or not she is already wrinkling. It’s a no for me.

When we awoke Saturday morning, it was still her birthday, because that’s how days work. There was coffee on the table and homemade biscuits. There was a hike up Kennesaw Mountain. There was the OK Café and there was Little 5 parallel parking. Saturday night, Annie saw Lion King on Broadway with her sister and I saw Justin Bieber with thirteen-year-old girls. It was the best of times. (At one point Annie tried to tell me I reminded her of Scar from the play. That was the worst of times.)

Just after midnight on Sunday, Annie announced to the room that finally “People are really going to take [her] seriously now.” So we are feeling blessed.

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