A Memory: Katie

This post took forever for me to put into words because I have so many great memories of my friend Katie, and I could have chosen any number of them to write about, but one of the most meaningful to me was one she may  not even remember, and it was just a small moment in time, and kind of hard for me to explain.

My first year at Ricks College was fantastic.  I love that place!  I had the best roommates, awesome friends and neighbors.  One of those awesome neighbors was Katie.  She was my first ever visiting teaching assignment (I was nervous, felt weird doing what old ladies do).  We went on big group dates together, had water fights, our apartments had dinner together, all sorts of fun stuff.  She was just fun to be with. 
One of her memories of me was that we were over having dinner and I poked my rommate Maegan in the boob, though I plead the fifth on that one.  That goes for the blue darts adventure, too. 

The start of my second year was different, though.  To make a long story short I ended up living with 5 girls I'd never met before, 1 of which was really great, 2 were okay, and 2 were freaks of nature that made living there unpleasant.  When I arrived in Rexburg that first day and met the people I was to live with I was a little sad.   There wasn't a happy, home-like feeling that I was used to. I put my stuff away in my room, and shoved my food into my assigned cupboard and little section of the fridge (there would be no friendly sharing of meals in this apartment) and decided to take a walk and find some friendly faces. I walked along the shared balcony, said hi to a few people I recognized, but was getting more and more downhearted. I was at the point that I wanted to lay down on my bed and have a good cry, but there isn't any privacy for that sort of a thing at college apartments.

I poked my head into an open door and finally saw some old friends. I hugged Jamie and Heidi and we were chatting excitedly about seeing eachother again when I heard an earsplitting "Jenn!" from the kitchen, and Katie ran at me and threw her arms around me, and was SO happy to see me.  She could hardly contain her excitement, an it was infectious.  Now I felt like crying again, only it was for a completely different reason. This is what I was looking for, this is what I needed.   I was far from home and missed my family and old friends, but at that moment I felt like I was home at last.

Halfway through the year I moved into her apartment, and was so much happier there.  We had great times.
She always had fun, creative ideas; remember the FHE when we did the scripture stories? (Oh Sampson, you're so strong!)  She set me up on a blind date with Jared (and the rest is history) and she later married his roomate.  While they were dating she came and stayed with Jared and I in our little apartment and we always loved having her there. 

Now we are still good friends, and she takes beautiful pictures of my family (can we do it again this summer?), and we get together (not as often as we should) amd we talk on the phone and lament over our babies' sleep habits.  And I love her so much, and cherish the memories, especially that one time I was so sad and downhearted and she lifted my spirit and made me feel like I was at home in the place I love.  Now I see it is the place I love because of the awesome people I met and loved there.  Awesome people like you, Katie!