Blessings

Way back when in 2004 I decided that for the summer I wanted to intern in Washington, DC.  I was young and fairly politically active and I wanted to 1) make a difference and 2) have a great summer full of really cool things and neat experiences.  So I applied with both of our state senator's and the White House and was accepted as an intern with Senator Jeff Sessions.  I was set to go for the second session (basically four weeks encompassing the last half of the month of June and the first half of July) and was accepted to live at Georgetown Law in their dorms.  I was super excited in February when all this came about and was decided.

But then the months crept towards the beginning of June when I was set to leave for DC with my Mom and I started getting nervous.  And anxious.  And scared.  And unsure of my decision.  I didn't know anyone in DC.  I was going to be there for four weeks working with who knows what kind of people, living with someone that I had never met or spoken to before, away from everyone and everything that I knew and I was worried.  I prayed a lot before that trip asking God to bring me a friend.  Funnily enough I kept imagining that it would be someone from Ole Miss (seriously, I am not making this up) which makes no sense looking back since this imaginary person would have been working for a Mississippi Senator not an Alabama one and is funny now that I have a best friend who is actually from Ole Miss! 

Anyway, Mom went with me and spent a few days moving me in and getting me settled.  This included exploring some of the monuments and also traipsing to Virginia to find a small-ish tv and lugging it back through the Metro to my dorm.  But then the day came for me to leave and I wasn't happy.  I knew that I needed to be there and I knew that I would have fun but watching Mom ride away in a cab while I stayed was so very hard.  I tear up just typing about it because I remember how upset I was.  I had quite a few good cries that night but eventually my first day of work came and I walked myself up Capitol Hill mostly excited about what was to come.

Suprisingly given the six years since then I still remember sitting in the conference room with the other interns introducing ourselves and wondering if I would fit in with any of the other staffers.  To those who knew me in college they can tell you that I wasn't a going out type of girl.  I was a homebody who would rather hang out in my aparment with Jason and my roommate than go to a bar.  And I found that I was very much in the minority in that group of people.  (Tons of nice people, just looking for a little more fun that I was wanting to be involved with.)  But then Sarah introduced herself and said that she went to Samford and we started talking and it seemed like we might be friends.  Turns out that we spent the next four weeks almost always together. 

We went to Mount Vernon....

Took on Chinatown...

And had fun working in a wonderful Senate office!

Sarah was definitely a God-send that summer and becoming friends with her was such a blessing.  We have kept in touch over the years and even enjoyed a few lunches together in Tuscaloosa while I was working and she was in law school at Alabama.  We don't get to see each other nearly enough but we do chat some and I love her so much!

Last fall I was excited to talk to her and find out that she had started dating this guy and they were pretty serious.  We tried to catch up at the Alabama/Auburn game so that we could meet him but it didn't work out and none of our other plans did either.  In May, Brent proposed and they set a wedding date in January.  Sarah sweetly asked me to be one of her bridesmaids and I happily agreed!  We were planning on going to their engagement party in August but Charlotte got sick and we couldn't go.  But last Friday they had a Tool and Gadget Couples shower in Montgomery and so Jason and I left C with Mom and Dad and headed down for it.

I was so excited to meet Brent and was so happy to see that he is just as nice and kind and wonderful as Sarah made him out to be.  Jason and I really enjoyed meeting Brent and catching up with the two of them and also meeting Brent's family and seeing Sarah's again.  It was a wonderful night and it makes me even more excited for their upcoming wedding!

Thanks for having us down this weekend Sarah and Brent! We are so excited about your wedding and are looking forward to being a part of your special day!