Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Typical Bar Accessories
We were probably the only people who routinely took a trip to Party City in preparation for the bar:
Beach Party 2000
One of our many theme nights at the Phyrst: "Beach Party 2000".
We used our kazoos as an implement to drink beer out of our pitchers:
Whenever we had a theme night at the bar, we went all out. This particular night we brought a ton of leis (which of course ended up all over Spider Kelly and half the bar patrons), drink umbrellas, plastic musical instruments, etc.
We used our kazoos as an implement to drink beer out of our pitchers:
as well as drank directly out of the pitchers with our straws (that actually wasn't specific to Beach Party 2000, that was pretty much every night at the Phyrst):
Whenever we had a theme night at the bar, we went all out. This particular night we brought a ton of leis (which of course ended up all over Spider Kelly and half the bar patrons), drink umbrellas, plastic musical instruments, etc.
Ian:
"Yeah, so I'm pregnant"
This photo was taken right after I told Dawn, Kristen, and Sunita that I was pregnant with Zoey. We had gotten ice cream and were chit chatting when I casually said "Yeah, so I'm pregnant". And there was much rejoicing. :)
Dawn Did Not Like Carrots
Anyone who remotely knew Dawn knew that carrots were her nemesis. She was not a fan of many vegetables, but carrots were particularly egregious.
She ended up with some variety of carrot in her food at Kristen's tea party bridal shower, maybe carrot cake? Carrot muffin? I can't remember. Kristen or Sunita, do you recall? But I distinctly remember this face afterwards:
She ended up with some variety of carrot in her food at Kristen's tea party bridal shower, maybe carrot cake? Carrot muffin? I can't remember. Kristen or Sunita, do you recall? But I distinctly remember this face afterwards:
As a side note, that's my shirt she has on. I remember us going through our closets trying to find something to wear. We had similar tastes and used to swap shirts a lot.
Hello Finn
Aunt Dawn loved all of her "kids" so much. Zoey, Finn, Wyatt, Willow, Abby, Molly, and Joe were all her family.
The night I was induced with Finn, Dawn waited by the phone, texting me all night and the next day, anxiously awaiting his arrival. She was one of the first ones to arrive at the hospital to meet him:
Truck Drivin' Man
Another Spider Kelly favorite. Only in typical Spider Kelly fashion, the words got changed to involve "Hamburger Dawn", a tribute to Danville, and eventually the entire title became "Drunk Drivin' Man".
Cat in a Sweater Card
How awesome is our friendship? Awesome enough that Kristen and I both got Dawn the same weird cat-in-a-sweater birthday card one year that read "I was afraid you wouldn't get a card with a picture of a cat in a sweater on it". We knew our Dawn-Nicole all too well.
70s Gameshow Party
Over the years we had a lot of theme parties, one of my favorites was our 70s gameshow party, inspired largely by the show The Match Game.
In college we used to watch a LOT of gameshow network, it was our go-to hangover remedy. Lay on the couch all day, eat leftover pizza, and watch the Newlywed Game, Press Your Luck, Family Feud (only with Richard Dawson), and the Match Game. Oh that wacky Gene Rayburn.
So a couple years ago we decided to host a 70s gameshow party. We watched the Match Game on repeat (Dawn had given me a Match Game box set one year), made Harvey Wallbangers and Tom Collins drinks, and dressed in fabulous 70s attire. I remember shopping in Salvation Army with Dawn, trying on all kinds of ridiculous clothes. When she pulled out the mint suit, we both said "YES!!!". It fit her perfectly, like it was just made for her to rock 70s gameshow awesomeness in.
True to Jen form, I made drinks entirely too strong and ended up loopy by like 7:30. I vaguely remember the Harvey Wallbangers combined with a floppy hat and ginormous glasses making for a fairly large functional impediment and I passed out by 8:30. So I'll have to leave it to Kristen (who was pregnant and a responsible party attendee) to recap most of the night.
In college we used to watch a LOT of gameshow network, it was our go-to hangover remedy. Lay on the couch all day, eat leftover pizza, and watch the Newlywed Game, Press Your Luck, Family Feud (only with Richard Dawson), and the Match Game. Oh that wacky Gene Rayburn.
So a couple years ago we decided to host a 70s gameshow party. We watched the Match Game on repeat (Dawn had given me a Match Game box set one year), made Harvey Wallbangers and Tom Collins drinks, and dressed in fabulous 70s attire. I remember shopping in Salvation Army with Dawn, trying on all kinds of ridiculous clothes. When she pulled out the mint suit, we both said "YES!!!". It fit her perfectly, like it was just made for her to rock 70s gameshow awesomeness in.
True to Jen form, I made drinks entirely too strong and ended up loopy by like 7:30. I vaguely remember the Harvey Wallbangers combined with a floppy hat and ginormous glasses making for a fairly large functional impediment and I passed out by 8:30. So I'll have to leave it to Kristen (who was pregnant and a responsible party attendee) to recap most of the night.
Monday, September 29, 2014
I Can't Wait
My favorite song Spider Kelly played was "Can't Hardly Wait" by The Replacements. It always came towards the end of the night. And Dawn and I always drank and danced to it together, always at the front of the stage. I can't hear this song without feeling like she should be next to me.
Just Breathe
It's been two weeks since Dawn died. Everyone asks how I'm doing, and truth be told I've been a wreck since Dawnapalooza ended.
Until the party I was grieving but maintaining. Because ever since Dawn got sick I was in "crisis mode" - decisions to be made, things to do, all moving forward. I am excellent in crisis mode - when calamity strikes I am in my element. It's why I was drawn to emergency nursing. From her decline in Philadelphia, to her move to hospice, through her death, to planning her arrangements with the viewing and the party, I was constantly still immersed in things to do. Grieving but filled with purpose.
I logically knew after all of the "to-do's" were over that everything would feel more final. I knew that. But I was not remotely prepared for the enormous gravity of that feeling.
It hit me after the final Spider Kelly song ended at Dawnapalooza. It was like getting kicked in the chest and having all of my breath sucked away. Literally, I couldn't breathe. It came on so suddenly and completely. Suddenly she was just gone. And there was nothing to fill the space, except her absence. It was blinding, excruciating, filled with panic, and all of my forward momentum came to a screeching halt. Because she was just GONE.
My best friend was gone.
Yeah I've been a wreck.
Crying on the floor in the fetal position wreck. Can't breathe. Gutted. It's ugly. And I am consumed with my memories of her. Because almost all of our best memories were together. I know over time her light will shine through this darkness and the memories will be sweet. Logically I get it. But right now... right now I just want to figure out how to breathe again.
Until the party I was grieving but maintaining. Because ever since Dawn got sick I was in "crisis mode" - decisions to be made, things to do, all moving forward. I am excellent in crisis mode - when calamity strikes I am in my element. It's why I was drawn to emergency nursing. From her decline in Philadelphia, to her move to hospice, through her death, to planning her arrangements with the viewing and the party, I was constantly still immersed in things to do. Grieving but filled with purpose.
I logically knew after all of the "to-do's" were over that everything would feel more final. I knew that. But I was not remotely prepared for the enormous gravity of that feeling.
It hit me after the final Spider Kelly song ended at Dawnapalooza. It was like getting kicked in the chest and having all of my breath sucked away. Literally, I couldn't breathe. It came on so suddenly and completely. Suddenly she was just gone. And there was nothing to fill the space, except her absence. It was blinding, excruciating, filled with panic, and all of my forward momentum came to a screeching halt. Because she was just GONE.
My best friend was gone.
Yeah I've been a wreck.
Crying on the floor in the fetal position wreck. Can't breathe. Gutted. It's ugly. And I am consumed with my memories of her. Because almost all of our best memories were together. I know over time her light will shine through this darkness and the memories will be sweet. Logically I get it. But right now... right now I just want to figure out how to breathe again.
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