A good friend of mine, Desi, is the inspiration of my post today. Desi and I met in May 2002 at the foot of Hill Cumorah. She had literally stepped off the plane that morning, groggy and probably a bit overwhelmed from flying the red-eye from Salt Lake, having just moved to New York. She was replacing a nanny, Susan, that lived in my ward in Watertown, NY; I knew Susan, but not very well because she was a little more reserved than me.
After a few weeks of letting Desi settle in to her new nanny life, Jen's and my curiosity had been stretched to it's limit--Jen and I decided to "kipnap" Desi and take her on an adventure. We showed up on the doorstep of the mansion she lived in, rang the doorbell, and waited . . . Desi's "nanny mom" answered the door, and we asked if Desi could come out and play. We couldn't call ahead, because we didn't have her number. We just showed up. Once Desi came to the door, Jen and I could no longer control our fits of giggles, and somehow convinced her to come for a ride with us. I bet she thought we were absolute lunatics, but I'm sure glad she got in the car with us.
Since that eventful evening, Desi and I have had many great adventures. We've had child-like moments, where we've gone out in the pouring rain to splash in puddles and twirl in the dancing downpour. There have been times of fear, like when she was following me in her car to Ithaca, and I was too distracted to realize that I'd lost her; being the days before we had cell phones, and we had no way to communicate, and only by prayer were we reunited. When I heard that her Father had died in an accident I wept for Desi; I can't imagine the pain she endured being in Argentina and not able to be with her family during their moments of sorrow. Desi and I have been spontanious, buying airline tickets 48 hours before the plane that took us back to New York and the Hill Cumorah departed, and spending a whirlwind weekend with old friends, and favorite foods. She even convinced me to become a student at BYU-Idaho--back in 2003. I of course swiftly changed my mind and swore I would never become a student at BYU-I, however, when I found out that flip-flops and shorts were not allowed on campus. Oh, how things come back to haunt you, eh? We've made our lives beautiful adventures.
Nowadays, Desi and I may not communicate on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis anymore, but I still consider her one of my greatest friends; certainly one that has influenced my life, and helped me become the person that I am today. I'm greatful to have known her, to know her, and to see where her adventure will take her.
What really inspired this post is that finally, after years of pleading with her to do so, Desi has started a blog. It's title,
Life is Beautiful, is truely how I feel about life--even when I'm stressed out because of midterms and making plans for the future, my life
is beautiful.
I'm thankful that you went against your Mother's words of wisdom and got into a car with strangers, Desi. I look forward to hearing more about how your life is beautiful too.
A good friend of mine, Desi, is the inspiration of my post today. Desi and I met in May 2002 at the foot of Hill Cumorah. She had literally stepped off the plane that morning, groggy and probably a bit overwhelmed from flying the red-eye from Salt Lake, having just moved to New York. She was replacing a nanny, Susan, that lived in my ward in Watertown, NY; I knew Susan, but not very well because she was a little more reserved than me. 
After a few weeks of letting Desi settle in to her new nanny life, Jen's and my curiosity had been stretched to it's limit--Jen and I decided to "kipnap" Desi and take her on an adventure. We showed up on the doorstep of the mansion she lived in, rang the doorbell, and waited . . . Desi's "nanny mom" answered the door, and we asked if Desi could come out and play. We couldn't call ahead, because we didn't have her number. We just showed up. Once Desi came to the door, Jen and I could no longer control our fits of giggles, and somehow convinced her to come for a ride with us. I bet she thought we were absolute lunatics, but I'm sure glad she got in the car with us.
Since that eventful evening, Desi and I have had many great adventures. We've had child-like moments, where we've gone out in the pouring rain to splash in puddles and twirl in the dancing downpour. There have been times of fear, like when she was following me in her car to Ithaca, and I was too distracted to realize that I'd lost her; being the days before we had cell phones, and we had no way to communicate, and only by prayer were we reunited. When I heard that her Father had died in an accident I wept for Desi; I can't imagine the pain she endured being in Argentina and not able to be with her family during their moments of sorrow. Desi and I have been spontanious, buying airline tickets 48 hours before the plane that took us back to New York and the Hill Cumorah departed, and spending a whirlwind weekend with old friends, and favorite foods. She even convinced me to become a student at BYU-Idaho--back in 2003. I of course swiftly changed my mind and swore I would never become a student at BYU-I, however, when I found out that flip-flops and shorts were not allowed on campus. Oh, how things come back to haunt you, eh? We've made our lives beautiful adventures.
Nowadays, Desi and I may not communicate on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis anymore, but I still consider her one of my greatest friends; certainly one that has influenced my life, and helped me become the person that I am today. I'm greatful to have known her, to know her, and to see where her adventure will take her.
What really inspired this post is that finally, after years of pleading with her to do so, Desi has started a blog. It's title, Life is Beautiful, is truely how I feel about life--even when I'm stressed out because of midterms and making plans for the future, my life is beautiful.
I'm thankful that you went against your Mother's words of wisdom and got into a car with strangers, Desi. I look forward to hearing more about how your life is beautiful too.
4 comments:
I might be a bit biased, but I certainly think she's great too! And, I know she will say ditto about all the kind things you said about her. She has always spoken quite highly of you and I know she considers you an eternal friend!
Kristin,
this brought back such a waterfall of memories! I remember each experience you wrote about, and hundreds more: square dancing with the senior citizens after institute each week, Jen's dog peeing on me, you driving to Boise to see me only hours after I stepped off the plane from Argentina... I am so glad I went through all those moments with you! And, my sister is right - I do consider you an eternal friend, and can only say ditto to how utterly amazing and beautiful you are.
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It's funny- I didn't share any of these adventures with you two, but you were a part of me while all this was going on, so just hearing about what you two did filled my heart with pure happiness. If I was home when I read this, and not sitting here at work, I would have let the tears roll. The world we live in today has a lot of yuckiness in it, but it's the relationships that we form that make every bit of living we do here worth it. I love you krofoot. Thank you for this post.
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