HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LAUREN!
I call this:
lauren turns 28 today: a photo essay
i met lauren on the interwebs.
craigslist to be exact.
see, i lured her into my perfect mt pleasant home, only to get us evicted just 50 days later.
actually, that’s just my dramatic side, we left, last minute, according to the terms of our lease, which lauren was not yet on. damn fine print.
this is lauren exactly 1 year ago today.
lauren and i have many aspirations.
one of them is to one day take a picture in front of every fire house in dc.
so far, we have one. but we have lots of pictures with it. in fact, i could probably have used only pictures in front of fire house no. 21 and had a full and varied post.
but my very dear friend lauren and i have many interests in common. boxed wine for one…
hot tubs and jameson for another…
i need to take a few minutes and be serious here before i go any further…
lauren is absolutely one of my very best friends. though we met as roommates, that was a tragically short chapter in our lives. probably for the best though as we might have had a little too much fun. if that is even possible. when we learned of our impending eviction, we decided to consciously cut through the awkward ‘getting to know you stage’ and pursue friendship. somehow we knew it had to be done.
and i can’t say how thankful i am that she answered my housing ad. and that she too thought it was important to make friends. she is a shoulder that i’m certain will always be there when called upon and knows more about what’s inside my head and heart than i do half the time. we share a common understanding and common experiences that have done much to shape who we are. it’s a bond i wish we didn’t have, but i’m thankful lauren is in my corner.
lauren is always willing to call me out on my bullshit, laugh with me, laugh at me, play rummy, drink wine (or jameson) (or beer) (or…), stay up unnecessarily late, over analyze with me, hike old rag (seriously, never have i met someone who loved old rag as much as she), try new things, hot glue gun…anything, dress up like an idiot, share custody of the most precious of personal belongings,..
and most importantly, support me.
lauren, thank you for being you. i hope i’m half the friend to you that you are to me. i’m so glad we stumbled upon each other. its only been a few short years, but i feel like i have known you forever. i hope 28 is a fantastic year that brings you laughter, joy and a wee bit of debauchery.
okay, a lot of debauchery.
now where was i?
right, in addition to hot tubs and jameson, there is also beer and patios…and aviators.
and cards…
and torturing pets…
and crafting…
and bocce ball, eeeerr, flare week…
did i mention crafting?
and friends (and aviators)…
and dressing the part…
and old rag (shit, she LOVES old rag)…
and garrison keillor/champagne cocktails (and aviators)…
and ladies night/laminating things…
and once in a lifetime, dc adventures.
yes we can.
and we did.
perhaps this is an appropriate time to wish president obama a very happy birthday as well. happy birthday, president obama.
lauren also seems to tolerate being my personal photography subject…seriously, she’ll take a picture anywhere…
…just leave her alone with the camera for 5 seconds and you’ll find a series of 20 or so self portraits…this particular day the camera was upside down. it’s unclear if that was on purpose or not, but i didn’t want to flip it and ruin the artist’s vision.
she’s always the first to lend a helping hand (as long as she gets to wear aviators).
loyal to the bone, supportive, hilarious and a helluva bocce baller.
lauren.
