Happy Birthday, Hannah!

Once upon a time, Hannah and my older sister were toddlers in their mothers’ shopping carts, and they struck up a spontaneous friendship. This led to the mothers connecting, and our families developed a special bond before I was even born. Hannah and her family haven’t lived in our area since I was a small child, but we have still kept up, and it is such a blessing to have like-minded, faithful friends.

One of the nice things about growing up is that you can be included in your older sister’s friendships, not banished because you’re “A BABY!” (Somehow, I remained a baby until I was twelve.) In 2009, I got to spend a considerable amount of time with Hannah and my sister during their visit. We watched the extended edition of The Two Towers together, and because we felt uncomfortable during the scenes of Aragorn and Arwen snogging, we took ostentatious notice of other things in the room. Hannah held up a snack jar and declaimed:

“WHAT A BEAUTIFUL CAN OF PEANUTS!”

“You know you’re in trouble when your best friend sides with your little sister.”

“Quit quoting Lord of the Rings! You know it’s too much when I think ‘entmoot’ when I see the word ‘resentment!’”

Listening to Owl City: “What if I don’t want to go to the alligator sky? Is there a protest button or something?”

In our suite at Creed 2012: “I am a literary infidel. I think I’m the only person here who doesn’t journal.”

Also at Creed: the Lorax mural

A Facebook status about fickle weather: “In other news, I must have been wrong about the roaring lion. Maybe somewhere in the world a cat yawned and then went back to sleep.”

This spring, when she came to visit: “See! I was faithful! She said, ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if nothing works out.’ And I was like, ‘No! I rebuke the spirit of Eeyore in you! We will make this work!’”

Describing her car: “It’s green, and small, and kind of short. Like me! Except for the green part.”

“She’s a secret agent. How has this not come out for the past twenty-two years?”

“This semester, my brain has been turning to rot. I had to take corporate finance. CORPORATE FINANCE!”

“Her soul cried out for the dog!”

“I read ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find,’ and I didn’t like it. Because people died. I don’t like it when people die!”

“We can write, ‘Good ideas, the rest of this is complete garbage, but…’”

“I said that we should keep the hole, so that she and I can sneak through it and plot dastardly deeds against humanity.”

“There are many beautiful people who love the Lord, but this is not one of them.”

“That’s been the problem of my life. Unrequited love from hippos.”

“Now, every time I say something, I think, Is Dorie gonna write it down or not? Oh no!”

“Mrs. Stoddard was the most memorable part of Creed camp.”

“You need to understand the attractiveness level here. You need context.”

“I was like, ‘Ooh, he’s attractive, and I haven’t heard anything stupid come out of his mouth yet.’”

“If I didn't post a picture of my sister for #NationalSiblingsDay, do I even have a sister? Is she some construct of my imagination?”

“Half of grad school is learning to find creative ways to accomplish the impossible.”

“When extroverts go shopping by themselves for prolonged periods of time, they sometimes talk to themselves. Not that I'm speaking from experience or anything. (But honestly, it's a little embarrassing.)”

              When I asked if I could include old dress-up pictures in this post: "Oh, please do. I have minimal to no shame."