This girl I know...

It's best to say that she bounded in to our lives because her entrance was not subtle. At an age where apathy ran rampant, she walked into this little tiny town and decided to mix things up. She loved more than she liked. She was quick to see the good, especially in people. She had this vivacious magnetism that drew people in from regional proportions. Everyone wanted to be her friend.

How did I get to be so lucky? There was only one reason because in every other direction, we were very different. I was quite a bit older in high school years. She was sportier, way sportier. But in common were testimonies of the gospel and active living of them. Church on Sundays, Young Womens on Wednesdays and seminary every Monday through Friday morning brought us full circle in one another's lives and I soon counted myself as one of the fortunate few to really know her.

And to that extent, I still do. How did she become more than another facebook friend from the past? My brother had the good sense to put a ring on it, and now I'm her lucky sister.

Three pictures that were never taken but should have been:

#1 - She and I are standing in front of a bathroom mirror, taking the picture with a camera between us. We are wearing matching deep sea green pants and equally vivid tops. She is holding a bottle of cleaner and I am waving my cleaning cloth. It's summertime and hot. Our hair is pulled back with loose strands coming forward and framing our faces. We just finished our shift and are remarkably still smiling. I stand by the fact that cleaning the Comfort Inn was the worst job in the world, but doing it together made it almost worth it.

#2 - She and I are lying under the stars. We've just been inspired by the story of some dude. Was he a high school student? A missionary? I don't remember. But I can say that his name was Kent Williams and that as we talked, we planned our lives to unfold like his, even to the point where we started calling each other Kentessa. The photo is taken from above and our faces fill the frame. Our expressions are created by ideas of big plans for the future and feelings of solidarity.

#3 - We are on a hill. It is evening and in the distance behind us a man stands with his guitar. We are waving our cell phones and are frozen in the image mid-sway. In this moment we are almost perfectly content. The one thing preventing ultimate tranquility is the missing presence of a husband/brother, somewhere in Iraq. A man to our right again yells out what will become almost an anthem for us in the future. How sweet it is.

Her character has enhanced my life in so many ways. She has an artistic perspective that is buoyed up by vibrant colors that I love. She has created and is raising-well two of my favorite people on the Earth. She makes my brother happy and I'm so grateful to have this girl in my life.

Happy Birthday Kassidi. I love you.