January: Meet Allison

I've realized that while I talk occasionally about friends and family, most of you don't have any clue who anyone else is.  Whether it be my family living in Delaware to Terry's in California, or any of our small group of close friends we've collected over the years, no one really knows the other.  Resolution (not to be confused with New Years Resolution because we know I do not believe in that): you get to meet someone new at the beginning of every new month who is very near and dear to my heart. And seeing as I ramble on and on throughout the rest of the month, I thought I'd take a break today and let them do the talking (well...the writing but you catch the drift)....although I may sneak in a few clarifications throughout.  ;-)

Stats
Met: Fall 2002

Places we've been together: JMU, Delaware, Charlottesville, Virginia; Baltimore, Maryland; St. Augustine, Florida; Dominican Republic; DC; New York City; Austin, Texas; St Louis

Best thing about Allison: She's a genuinely caring person to her core, and severely loyal

Worst thing about her: She lives so far away
Now, I'd love for you to get to know my best friend, Allison  ____________________________________________________________________________

The two of us met during our freshman year at JMU when we both joined our co-ed a cappella group, Low Key. She was the girl from Delaware that everyone swore was from the south because of her friendly demeanor, outgoing personality, and the twang she had in her voice when she sang. We hit it off instantly and spent a pivotal four years laughing (a lot of laughing), crying, and growing together. We lived together our junior and senior year, which was probably one of the best (in having your best friend next door) and worst (it takes a lot of commitment to live with someone and still like them, ha) decisions we made in college.

Very first picture of us....we look so young!!

The two of us were quickly coined “Mo” and “Ron” (she is Mo, I am Ron,) after it was discovered that we had occasional (frequent) bouts of idiocy when we were together. The nicknames stuck and are still used today. Mo and Ron were also part of a larger group of friends called the 4Ms that included the two of us along with two other friends from Low Key, David and Drew. The 4Ms was created after a crazy night that involved rescuing a girl from her suicide mission-quite literally-and hanging out at the ER for hours. From that night on, I had a close-knit family for the rest of my college career.

3 of the 4 M's

I could write a novel about the good (99% good) and trying (sometimes I'm a handful, I can admit that) moments together, but it would take entirely too much time and effort. I’ll provide a couple of moments that were worthy of sharing though. When Lindsey’s stepmother was diagnosed with cancer, she decided that we needed something in our home to channel positive energy and happy thoughts. The solution? The happy cup! We went and bought a huge wine glass-the ones that hold enough wine to hospitalize a drinker. Lucky for us, its purpose was not for drinking, although it did involve lifting spirits. We put a pad of post-its beside the glass and voila! When guests stopped by or a roommate had a particularly funny moment, they wrote it down and tossed it in the cup.  The cup was overflowing after our first semester, let alone two years later. When one of us was having a bad day, and especially when the bad news started coming in about her stepmother, the Happy Cup was our lifesaver. Lindsey has all the post-its compiled in an album now so that we can revisit those memories whenever we need/want to (I still look through them from time to time, makes me reminisce).

Another classic moment worth sharing actually involves the biggest fight that I can remember between us. Our junior year I began dating a guy that we’ll call DB (no, those aren’t his initials). Lindsey was protective of me and let it be known to all parties involved. One evening after a fun day of grilling out and playing yard games, Lindsey pulled DB aside to have a chat. Some (Most) of that conversation is not appropriate to relay here, but the parts of it that are go something like this: “I want you to know that Allison is my very best friend and if you do anything to hurt her-anything, I will kill you. I will find you, I will cut off your (censored) and you will regret ever messing with her.” (Still won't apologize for that....foreshadowing...) I noticed that DB left abruptly and so I started asking what happened. Another roommate said he left after Lindsey had scared him off, so I went to find out what happened. Long story short: Fury unleashed. I thought she ruined my relationship with the hottest guy on campus (still makes me laugh you thought he was so hot). Turns out, DB wasn’t the best guy and I ended things with him a few weeks later after learning that we had different definitions of “cheating.” Apparently Lindsey is not only loyal, but also a very good judge of character. (Don't worry folks, I didn't follow through on my death or dismemberment threat....but he should still sleep with one eye open :-)  )

After college we parted ways; I returned to my hometown of Charlottesville, VA, and she went off to Maryland for work and graduate school and to meet the love of her life. Lindsey is still the person I laugh, cry, and grow with, just not always in person. I still live in Charlottesville and so does my boyfriend, Shane. We’ve been dating for almost three years and I am happy to report that he hasn’t had any threatening conversations with Lindsey. During the week I work in the marketing department for a company in town as an event planner. I work a lot and travel on business often, which is exhausting but has allowed me to see some really incredible places around the world. It also gives me frequent flyer miles so that I can visit friends like Lindsey in St. Louis (woohoo). Or go on the trip we’re planning to wine country in Northern California next fall… Whatever the destination, I know when I see her, it will be like seeing my sister (We're seeing each other in 11 days in DC!!). We’ll have a great time-and probably act like morons.

Thanks for putting up with my brief (but long winded) stint as a blogger. I hope it wasn’t too difficult!

Love,
Ron (Allison)