Sarah's Going Away Party

Yes, it is sad but true: Sarah is leaving me.

Well, I guess technically she is leaving Atlanta. And all her other friends, too. But we all seem to be taking it a little personally.

Though I will miss her more than I can fathom right now, I couldn't be happier or more excited for her. Next month she is moving back to her hometown of Orlando, FL, and then taking some time off to go on an awesome trip to Thailand, New Zealand, and Australia before getting back to the real world and starting her counseling practice. I can't say I hardly blame her - I'd take off in a heartbeat too!

Last weekend she had her going away party in true Sarah form that some of us (aka: me) can no longer keep up with....complete with a keg, shots, beer pong, shots, flip cup, a few more shots....you get the idea. And for your (now cured) hangover, Sarah, you only had yourself to blame ;)

love you!
(and yes, i blurred out bo photo-bombing our picture)

me, chelsea, sarah, ginny & katherine

me & kim

me, shara & christy

Sarah is an awesome friend, and I love her to pieces. She wrote me an incredibly sweet good-bye letter about our friendship (and then forced me to open and read it in front of her the night of her party...grrrr). So it only seems appropriate to share a few of my favorite memories with her. We met over 9 years ago as freshman Chi Omega pledges at UF, somewhere between the flag football field and the volleyball courts. We were instant friends and soon declared ourselves HLP's (Hetero-Life-Partners, obviously). Our dorms were next door to each other but cell phone reception was so terrible that we got walkie-talkies so we could talk all the time - they were a blast. She and a few other close friends quickly convinced me to breakup with my silly boyfriend who was still in high school (yes, that would be Bo: my now husband) (this horrific event is also The Forbidden Topic in our home), only to meet him a few months later and realize how awesome he was and how could I ever break up with him?! (yes, we got back together a few weeks later and never parted again.) After many nights at the bars and too many orders of late-night pizza or pokey sticks, she dragged me to the Swamp to run stadiums and shed the freshman 15. During holidays and weekends she sometimes hitched a ride with me and I would drop her off in Orlando on the way - she thought my taste in music was odd; I thought her need to stop for a bathroom break during a 2 hour car-ride was ridiculous. On one trip home, we found our old rollerblades and brought them back with us...I still have the scar from one tragic fall. She was the first person I ever willingly chose to live with the next year when we were roommates in the Chi O house. I could really go on and on and on.... but we basically had a blast for four solid years and loved every minute of it. Our friendship didn't miss a beat when she graduated and moved to Atlanta, while I stayed at UF for grad school before moving up. And just for fun (and memory's sake), here are a few of my favorite pictures of us over the years...

2002

JACK house...2002

cheers to new roomies! 2003

 

Chi O Date Function: 80s Roller Skating

Senior Night 2006

Gator Basketball SEC Champions 2007

Sarah's 23rd birthday

will you be my bridesmaid?

Vegas 2009

my wedding

NYE 2010

San Francisco, June 2011

Though today we are in many ways different people from the two young girls who met back in 2002, we have grown together and not apart, and I love that about us. I know I'll still see her often and I know we will keep in touch. Our friendship won't change, but it won't be the same. I will miss the calls to meet up for a dinner date or happy hour or girls night or some other event, I will miss the go-to person she always is for me when I need her, and I will miss my spare key (actually, I may want that back...). Our visits with each other will be much more planned but no less fun. I don't think it will really hit me that she is gone until she really is.

Sarah, I love you so much! Wishing you all the best in Orlando. XOXO


PS - Just a warning for when you get married, I have quite a treasure trove of pictures for your slideshow. You're welcome ;)