Put That In Your Blog and Smoke It!

Best friends come in many forms.  Some are lifelong...they've known you since you were a wee one, they know the story about when you were 5 and you did ____________ (you know who you are).  Some you met in high school...you shared the same interests and planned to raise your kids together (you know who you are, too).  Others, you have thrust upon you.  Not in a bad way, mind you.  But sometimes, things are given rather than obtained.

So, one night, my brother who happens to be one in a pair of the BEST brothers ever, tells me he's met a girl.  Mmmmmkay?  Do I want to meet her?  Sure!  Why the heck not!  We head to Jim's Place (Clovis folks, you KNOW you miss that place)!  I sit down with my beer and out of nowhere comes this ball of curly blond hair.  She was all kinds of sunshine and happiness.  Oh dear.  I am so not that person.  How do I make my brother happy without offending him?  Her version of the story is even more funny, but you can't read about it...you have to hear her tell it, in person.

She seemed like a great kid.  I was glad to see my brother so happy (and it was funny to see him so nervous, too).  Her hair looked almost as big as mine, which I think endeared me to her.  Soon after they started dating, she refers me to her employer.  I was graduating from college and she was getting ready to move to another company, so she basically got me a job that lasted 6 years and hooked me up with several additional friends I know call family (and you guys know who you are, too).  She also asks me if I want to move in with her as one of her roommates is getting married and moving on.  What could be so bad about that?  She seems nice enough and I'd still get to hang out with my brother.

It's funny how you never look at a moment when you're in it and truly realize that you're making memories that will last a lifetime.  I look back at this time in our friendship and we STILL laugh about some of the weird moments, jokes and sayings that were borne of this time in our lives....the accident at Clovis and Sierra (the first time she tried to kill me) or about falling in the parking lot at the Hofbrau.  Little moments....

So, one night she and I go shopping.  She says, "I'll meet you at your folks house, I'm just going to stop at the apartment first."  I get to my parents house and my brother is FREAKING OUT because she's not there yet.  I calmly tell him no to worry because she's on her way.  No dice.  He is literally flipping out (and sort of bugging me because in my mind, she's a big girl and can take care of herself).  He hops in his car and takes off to try to find her.  I'm totally making fun of him while he's gone and next thing I know, he shows up...she shows up and they're engaged!  My genius brother asked her to marry him in the middle of the street.  Yeah, their engagement story is almost as good as mine.  Minus the puking.



Next thing you know, I'm a bridesmaid!  She really did it.  Wow, this girl must be the real deal.  She actually said yes.  I now have a sister-in-law.  But wait...it gets even better than that!  Dad gets a promotion at PG&E and he and mom are off to Arroyo Grande.  The parents have left the nest and the kids are left alone.  So, what do you think this crazy Tracy girl agrees to?  She agrees (KEEP IN MIND SHE'S A NEWLYWED) to let her husband's brother AND sister move into their brand new house with them.  I swear.  I'm not even kidding.  It was the Brady Bunch all over the place!  It was just too crazy for words.  Did she really just do that?  Yeah....she did.

I won't even attempt to share the hilarity that ensued over the next fifteen years because that would fill at least a year's worth of blog posts, but needless to say, it's some good stuff.  Babies have been born, another awesome sister-in-law has been added to the crazy mix and here we are now.  You just KNOW I'll be blogging like a nut about some of those stories (stay tuned for many of Mike and Tracy's tips for a hilariously successful marriage).

So, I guess what this particular blog is all about is my best friend/sister-wife/partner-in-crime.  Happy 19th (cough cough 40th) Birthday, Tracy, my little sister with the cutest hands and the heart of pure gold.  I couldn't ask for a better best friend/sister wife/partner-in-crime than you.  Thank you for being the positive to my negative, the Monica to my Phoebe, the Jan to my Kris.  I love you and I am so blessed to have your crazy butt in my family.

So....put that in your blog and smoke it!  ;) (PS, thanks for giving me this awesome blog title, too!)