Day 3. Andrea: 13 years of friendship.
Today my best friend is getting married. Annie this one's for you : )
Dear Andrea,
13-years ago in Fall 1999 I met you in our Freshman year at SUNY Geneseo. We lived 2-doors down from one another on the 4th floor of Niagara Hall, I knew right away we’d be friends forever. Today I am writing to you to say thank you, I dont think you know how much your friendship has been an anchor for me over the years, we have been through everything 2-friends with 13 years of friendship spanning our 20’s and now into our 30’s go through. Just thinking about you makes me smile.
When you found out that going to Kenya was a possibility for me, without me even asking, you said “we’ll take your dog!” just like that. You are remarkable like that. You then, a few seconds later were like, “hmmm, well maybe I should ask Jim first.” haha, but you told me there was no way you were going to let anything hold me back from going on this trip. You ultimately lost custody of Moose to an adorable 9-year old boy who promised to hug Moose 43 times a day (sorry but you just cant compete with that). But you are on Moose’s list of places to go while I’m gone since our dogs are best friends, just like us.
We found ourselves pledging the same sorority, 11-of us, who somehow made it through 5 weeks and 4 days of absolutely absurdity. As with many times in my life, I cant imagine that time without you. I think of you taking that epic dive down the DEKE stairs, and I was certain that a garbage can had fallen down the stairs. I also remember your nosedive down main-street as we took off to get that freaking egg signed. Come to think of it, a lot of my memories involve you falling down. Our group of 11 would ultimately become terrible sorority members, often showing up late, if at all, only seeking positions in which we could plan the parties, but forging such a strong bond across the 11-of us, that not much else mattered. We also found ourselves on the rugby team our freshman year, you lasting one-season and me, two. You decided one year earlier than me that getting the crap beat out of you by big giant girls, was not nearly as fun as eating easy mac and putting on our rounded boots, flared jeans, and taking out 15 dollars for the night to have the best night of your life. I caught up eventually.
When that idiot Jared broke your heart and he had the nerve to try to get a drink from me at the IB when I was bartending. I leaned over the bar and grabbed him and told him he had 10 seconds to leave the bar. When he stared at me in shock and didnt move, I reached down into my station and proceeded to launch a handful of cherries at his head summoning my old softball arm. It’s still a moment I’m extremely proud of to this day. And when DJ Fred cheated on me with makeup head, you gave me your best top from Express to wear, and, as we danced the night away on the pool table to 50 cent and madonna: you told me the things that best girlfriends tell each other, how much prettier I am, how awesome I am, and that now would be the perfect time to make-out with someone new, suggesting that taking another shot that we light on fire was a good idea. Ah, such sound advice.
After college all 11-of us headed in 11-different directions but you and I always stayed in touch (pretty much because I made you) and then 5 years ago we had a summer of Fryer and Andrea when you moved to Rochester. That summer involved going on multiple wine tours just the two of us, seeking out waterfalls, and countless Sunday Funday’s where I was officially inaugurated as a Tempio. I had always secretly dreamed of being in an Italian family, and my dreams came true when you started dating Jim, the man you are about to marry on Saturday. On one particular wine tour we overserved ourselves and ended up teaching a group of middle-aged porsche enthusiasts the lyrics to all of our sorority songs. It was a close second to the time our picture ended up in the Ellicotville paper with Prinzi, playing the banjo and other various instruments with that blue-grass band. I think that began your love affair with the tambourine. We’d end up in the paper for a 2nd time a few years later, this time under the alias Sheila Fryer and Scott Russo...amazing.
When I got all yoga on you guys and party Fryer evolved into yogi Fryer, you handled it quite well. You’ve dealt with me taking meat out of my diet, going to bed at 9am, and missing out on parties to teach a class: you’ve always been so genuinely inquisitive about this path of mine, and we have both respected the growth process in the other. When I taught that big benefit class, you came, and though you had no clue what was going on you smiled the whole way through. I love you for this and 8000 reasons.
You’re my call when I’m sad. You’re my call when I’m scared. You’re my celebration buddy for all of life's adventures. You’re my favorite person to road trip with, even when we have to pay a 47 dollar tolls for somehow bypassing an extremely important part of the freeway. All this and the turbo laugh, just thinking about it makes me snort.
You are getting married on Saturday and I cant wait to see you come down that aisle. You are getting more and more gorgeous every year, and that Jimmy is a lucky man. Your soon to be husband has become the brother I never had, and I’m so glad you two are in my life.
You are not just my best friend. You are my sister. Your support has helped me to say yes to life when life asks of me big requests, like this one I am about to embark on. I’m really going to miss you. I know we’ll be best friends the rest of our lives. I know my kids will know you as Aunt Andrea, and I will make you promise to never ever show them pictures from 1999-2005. I cant even guess at how many hours of conversations, laughs, tears, all of it, that we’ve had. But I am hoping for a million more. Thank you for supporting me in my journey. When I’m feeling homesick, I’ll think of your laugh and your bear hugs and I’ll be just fine in no time.
Just remember one thing, you gotta test drive the car before you buy it ; )
