Friday, August 31, 2012

neighbors

leaving chicago was heartbreaking for me. as silly (and carrie bradshaw like) as it may sound, i consider chicago to be one of the loves of my life. and while there are a million and one reasons why i deep down adore that city, at the top of that list are the dearest friends we have, john and becky.

a little over five years ago, john interviewed me for city year. as he sat in chicago,  i sat on my patio in harrisonburg, va and marissa prepped 1 rolling rock and 1 bluemoon to "cheers" and drown our shared sorrow that we were one step closer to graduating. a few weeks later, i would get an email from one, patrick heckel, with a list of neighborhoods to start apartment hunting. we all worked together for a year, the three of us barely spoke, and i moved on to a new job. and then almost three years years after that, we would all find ourselves at a christmas party, on an incredibly snowy and cold december night, a girl i had never met would walk right up to me and say/slur, "HI! you're pat's girlfriend!" and i would give her a quick up and down and say "yes, i'm anna. and who are you?"

love rifle paper co.
...that lady was becky. she worked for city year, she adored my other half, and she was dating john. it didn't take long for us to become joined at the hip, shopping on our lunch break, meeting up at trader joe's, and hosting "dinner parties" twice a week, for just the four of us. the bond between us would only get stronger as the distance between our two apartments shrank. it's kind of hard to not fall in love with people who make you dinner on a weekly basis, who celebrate your accomplishments, who refuse to judge you when you fail, who take care of your dog when you have to go out of town last minute, who remain silent as your hands are covering your face and you ask the dreaded question that only you can answer, "what am i doing with my life?" friends who remind you by their very steadfastness, "that truth, beauty, and goodness exist in the world. and that no matter what, there are and always will be, people loving people through thick and thin." these two have seen us at our absolute worst, at our lowest low, both as individuals and as a couple. i cannot, and will not, imagine our life without them.

first time seeing, "mr. and mrs. patrick heckel"

so yes, we're excited too. that someday, two of our best friends will promise to be best friends to each other for the rest of their lives. and to celebrate, with you both, all there is to come, and support each other through our struggles.
john and b, we love you so much. 


& so does polly.