Happy birthday, times two!

Today is a special day - it's the birthday of a) my favorite Reds baseball player, Adam Rosales, and b) my matrons of honor!


I picked Meghan and Marti to be my matrons of honor only because they shared the same birthday and had similar initials - Martha Ellen and Meghan Elizabeth (although Meg has since dropped Elizabeth in lieu of her maiden name, although I must say I have strongly disagreed with that choice, but she's aware of that, did it anyway and it's a long story ...)

ANYWAY.

Seeing as how I'm the little sister, I've known Marti my whole life. I did pretty much everything she did - band, German Club, National Honor Society, Girl Scouts, etc. She'd just always been there, and I took her for granted. Until she went away to college. FOUR HOURS AWAY. This was HUGE. Sure, I had my own room (score!), but I'd lost my roommate, and that was jarring. I tried to be all cool in all of my freshman-in-high-school ways, but it was hard having her so far away. Suddenly (and even more so two years later when Mom was pregnant with Doug), I was the oldest. Marti always told me I got everything I had because of her - you know, if Mom and Dad told her she couldn't go to the movies with friends or something like that, fours years later they'd mellowed out and *I* was allowed to do all of those things.

After I went to college and started my world tour of newspaper jobs, Marti's home in Columbus was often a getaway. While in Lima, Columbus was closer than our parents' house. Flights from Tampa to Columbus were often cheaper and more convenient than other Ohio airports. Hours of relentless teasing have been lost because I am so far away now. Alas, I vow to make up for it someday.

When Tim and I got engaged and decided to get married in Ohio, Marti was PRICELESS in our planning. Every time someone asks me where we got married, I say, "We got married in Ohio, but my sister really helped with everything so it wasn't as bad as it sounds." And it wasn't. I don't know how she put up with me and my demands/requests/precious inquiries, but she did, and I'm glad I have a patient, loving and threatened kind sister who helped us out. While it would have been easy for us to grow apart as the geographic distance has increased, I think we've gotten closer, and I hope someday we'll live near each other again.

Happy 32nd birthday, Mart!

Even though I'm older than Meg, I have *not* known her her entire life. (This fact might be the saddest of Meghan's life. So sorry, Meg.) I met her at Kent State in the Stater office during training for our fall 2001 newspaper staff. Meg was taking over the Administration beat, which I had covered that summer. I handed her a pile of crap my notes and told her to let me know if she had any questions. After that, I don't remember the details - somehow she ended up being my very best friend, and those last two years of college were full of memories with Meghan. We used to get up insanely early and work out at the Rec Center. Exercise has never been as much fun - I think we'd be there for at least an hour, talking, sweating, wondering why we were awake, and not even realize we were working out. We'd walk home from classes together, make random runs for Chinese food and Dairy Queen and scheduled trips for gas station cappuccino. We're classy like that.

After Meg graduated, she went to Arizona for a fellowship - and hasn't come back. She met the love of her life out there and has provided me and countless others with a really cool place to vacation. No matter how physically far apart we've been, though, we've been in constant contact - e-mails, phone calls, visits. It hasn't mattered that we see each other once, maybe twice a year (last year, when we both got married, we saw each other a whopping THREE TIMES!). She's been there for me through good and bad, through moves, love, laughter and wedding planning.

Happy 27th birthday, Meg!

Love you both and wish I could be there to celebrate with you guys ... Meg and I could be your DD, Mart :-)