Memories of Carrie

I don't remember how exactly I met Carrie. It probably had something to do with our brothers being friends and always hanging out. Anyway, we became really good friends and spent whatever minute we had with each other. I remember the summer before freshman year spending every day with her. She would ride with me on the bus to cross country camp after having one of our many sleepovers.

During sophomore year I would come over every Wednesday. We would attempt to do homework, but were never quite successful. After making us dinner, she would walk with me to a class I was taking nearby. Those walks were always the best. We would be our typical selves talking about anything and everything. Once we had to stop and sit down because were laughing at ourselves so hard. I remember when she drove me with her dad in the car. She was always the best driver, or not. She freaked us all out by driving up on the curb of the street while definitely breaking the speed limit.

Driving with Carrie was always an adventure. I remember, on more than one occasion, driving with her after waking up late for Forensics tournaments. We would speed the whole way there, counting how many red lights we went through. I think our record was 11. Once she came to visit me at work just so we could hang out for a while. I remember she drove me to the beach I was guarding and we sped down Sheridan Rd blasting Moulin Rouge singing, or screaming rather, at the top of our lungs. All my coworkers, and anyone else we drove by for that matter, thought we were absolutely out of our minds, but that was how it was with Carrie. We were always crazy together.

Sleepovers with Carrie were always the best. We would jump on the trampoline for what seemed like an eternity and then go inside to watch a movie or just talk. With Carrie, it was really easy to get into a deep conversation whether you wanted to or not. Everything she said always made so much sense to me. I remember making food in the middle of the night, sneaking outside, trying to muffle our laughter so we didnít wake up her parents and just spending time with her. I remember one sleepover when we were trying to make popcorn and the popcorn set on fire and no one knew how to get it out. Water wasnít helping and baking soda didnít seem to work. Finally someone decided to just pick it up and throw it in the sink. We all felt pretty stupid.

I remember hospital visits. I always wanted to be as close to her as possible because I missed her presence so much so I would ask if I could sit on her bed. One time she asked if I wanted to get under the covers with her- so of course I did. At one point, she fell asleep on me, so I decided to make the best of it and went to sleep too. I will never forget the confused faces of the nurses when they came in to find the two of us in her bed.

These past few weeks with Carrie have been so precious. I feel so blessed to have been with her so much. I will miss her more than words can express. There are so many things that I will never forget about Carrie: Her laugh, her smile, how many times she's told me just how stupid one of my ideas can be, late nights, sleepovers, cooking together, driving together, having dance parties in her living room, her sarcastic remarks, her honesty, her bluntness, her maturity, great conversations and the list goes on. I have been so honored to have had her as one of my best friends. I have learned so much from her and she has touched so many. Life with Carolyn has been amazing and I have loved every minute of it.