Dr. Buck, happy birthday!

To my beautiful friend Kristen: The strongest, smartest, most beautiful woman I know. Because I love you, here is a walk down memory lane:

1997: You barged into my dorm room.

1998: We became roomies and we almost set Noal’s Jeep on fire while driving. We both worked at the coffee shop.

1999: You insisted I go to the ER when I tripped on those rocks. You adopted a cat that had a litter of kittens in our laundry room. You brought me home to Salem and your mom made us dutch babies.

2000: We sat on our front porch. A lot. You encouraged me to skip class. We liked to bowl.

2001: You were Jason’s biggest fan. We surprised you in Santa Cruz.

2002: You visited me in Atlanta. Got me in trouble. J

2003: You bought a food dehydrator at 3:00 am.

2004: You were the most generous Matron of Honor ever. Six weeks after the wedding we camped our way from Seattle to Boston.

2005: You shared your mom’s top secret pot pie recipe with me.  

2006: We went to Chicago with all our lady friends. You were knee-deep becoming a Dr.   

2007: Me and Jason drove from Boston to Seattle. I relived all our hilarious antics from three years earlier.

2008: We reunited in Leavenworth with our best friends. We hot tubbed and did yoga.

2009: We met up in Seattle – we hadn’t seen each other in a year. It was like we were never apart.

2010: You came to Bainbridge. We sat in the window seat upstairs. We talked each other’s ears off.

2011: You met Truman. We met up for Lisa’s wedding. I partied too hard. So did you. (I still owe you for the hotel room fine J)

2012: I forgot your birthday. Sorry. I love you big and I think of you all the time. Thanks for being my bestie.