Letter #83 - Ginger

I have lived with a lot of people.  Mostly because the last few years of undergrad I was living in a house that was home to 12 students... many of which were different each year I was there.  Ginger was one of my roommates at the house and I absolutely loved her.  Ginger is everything a redhead named Ginger should be... fiery, independent, strong willed, passionate, and a touch crazy.  We made great roommates and she got me hooked on the wonderful world of Joss Whedon.  Ginger and I share a dark sense of humour, and she not only brought it out in me, but helped me realise it was ok to let that part of my personality out.  We don't keep in very regular contact, but we have the kind of relationship where that's ok, and when we *are* in touch it's like we still live together almost.

I wanted to write to Ginger because I have been thinking about her a lot this week, and reflecting on the impact she had on my life as a friend and as a roommate.  I wanted to verbalise some things to her that I never had before, and thank her for being so awesome.  She lives in another state now, and we've both gotten married since the last time we saw each other... I really hope at some point we can get together with our spouses and hang out and catch up again, but for now I'll make do with my letter and sending her a whole lot of love.  I hope my letter brings a smile to her face, and let's her reminisce for a bit about our shenanigans together when we were roommies :o)

Letter #45 - Jerry

When I was pursuing my undergrad, I spent 2.5 glorious years living in a beautiful house off campus that was owned and operated by my church.  Now known as the Journey House, I LOVED that place.  I lived with 11 other residents and we grew to become such a close knit family... I miss them all so much now.  I find myself getting homesick for them, so tonight I reached out to Jerry, one of my housemates during that time.

I grew up going to camps with Jerry's sister, and with Jerry, though at camp we hung with different circles.  When I found out Jerry was considering moving into the house I was ecstatic because I knew what an awesome guy he was.  Turns out he was even cooler than I thought at the time.  Jerry always had a hug for me when I needed it, always knew how to make me laugh and smile, always brightened up the room when he walked in.  If I was having a sucky day, all I had to do was wander into his room and it was instantly better.

Jerry now lives in Las Vegas which means I see him next to never and that sucks a lot.  I think about him tons and always wonder how he's doing out there (he works in hospitality-business and the last time I saw him out there he was in his glory!)  My husband and I are considering a trip to Vegas this year if finances allow, to visit my aunt and uncle who are more like grandparents to my brother and I.  They were unable to attend our wedding at the last minute because of health issues and I was absolutely devastated.  I promised Jerry in my letter that if a trip pans out, we would make time to hang out with him while we're there.

I can already see Jerry's face when he sees my name on the return address.  He has the most infectiously warm smile, I wish I were there to see it in person... and to collect that hug I know he'll have waiting for me...!

Letter #42 - Danielle

Sometimes we meet people under odd circumstances.  Becoming roommates is one of those odd circumstances to me.  "Hey meet this person you will now share very close living quarters with for the next year, hope you like them!"  When I was a freshman in college, I met Danielle.  We were roommates.  We had spoken once or twice on the phone before we moved into the dorms, and she has this hilarious story about how she was convinced I was blonde.

Danielle and I ended up being an excellent match.  We turned into really good friends, and ended up living together for 3 years.  Danielle recently moved to the Detroit area, which has allowed us to hang out a lot more.  She is one of the few friends I have around here who would much rather do non-standard things (aka not grab dinner and a movie, instead, go to the zoo in the middle of winter).  I love it because it allows me to do stuff I wouldn't ordinarily get the chance to do (like go to the zoo in the middle of winter).  She's also my "culture" friend, she loves to go to plays, musicals, etc, which a lot of my friends in the area don't really get into, so when I want to do stuff like that, she's my first call :o)

Today I sent Danielle a note because she has been having a rough week.  I wanted to send her some encouragement.  Writing to Danielle let's me remember some of the awesome times we've had together, and makes me feel good because I really love spending time with her.  Her conversations almost always make me feel better about life, even if it happens to be sucking at the time.  Everyone should have a Danielle in their life. For real.