Three Years Ago ...

... Grant and I made our first trip to Salem to look for a place to live. We had just sent off our acceptance letter to Willamette College of Law, I was 7 months pregnant, and we didn't know a soul in Oregon. Interestingly enough, literally a day or two before we left to come look for an apartment, my dad got talking with a coworker, and somehow Grant's and my plans came up, and his coworker mentioned that, against my dad's assurance that he'd probably never heard of Willamette University (unless you're from the Northwest, most people haven't), not only had he heard of Willamette, but that he had a brother-in-law who was about to start his third year there. He told my dad he'd get us the contact information of his in-laws so we could meet this couple -- Spencer and Mary Kelly -- and maybe they could give us some leads on good places to live. I still remember writing that first e-mail that went something like this: "Hi Mary, my name is Monica Dickinson, my dad works with your brother-in-law. My husband was just accepted to Willamette law school ..." Little did I know that my awkward e-mail would be the first of many that would be sent back and forth between Mary and me.

So right around this very time of year three years ago, Mary and Spencer invited us over to their place (the night of Spencer's last final that year, no less!) so we could meet and talk housing and so they could answer any other questions we had about Willamette, Salem, law school, etc. We got directions to their apartment -- a place in southeast Salem called Grand Oak apartments -- and we joined them for a yummy Papa John's pizza dinner and law school Q&A. I got to hold their brand new son Morgen, Spencer got Grant psyched about playing "noon ball" on campus, and, long story short, some contract mishaps and frantic phone calls later, we ended up living in the same apartment complex as Spencer and Mary, which ended up being one of the greatest blessings of our law school experience.

And the rest, I guess you can say, is history. Spencer was so great to Grant his first year --he was a happy and familiar face in the hallways, a great person to get tips and advice from, a ward ball teammate, and just an overall fun, easygoing person to be around. And Mary was (and is!) an absolute angel of a friend to me. After we moved in, she would stop by to ask Eliot and I to join her and Morgen for walks, and as our newborns would ride/snooze in their strollers, Mary and I got the chance to chat. Pretty soon we found out we had lots in common -- we both love to read and cook, we lived for new episodes of The Office for our comic relief, and on and on. Mary has been one of my closest friends ever since. We've seen each other through a lot of ups and downs, and as a result, she has become a cherished and dear friend whom I will miss like crazy when we leave Oregon.

It only seemed appropriate that our last get-together as friends involve Papa John's pizza in a cramped South Salem apartment. The boys talked law school and basketball, Mary and I played with the babies. Isn't it nice how things come full circle sometimes? These are pictures of us all together, ALL of us finished with law school, all of us moving forward, all of us grateful for the chance to know each other and to have been brought together "by chance."

Spencer and Mary with their boys Morgen (now 3) & Max

(16 months) with us and almost 3-year-old Eliot, April 29, 2010

And these ones just had to be included -- Eliot, at his mother's bidding, was trying to give Morgen a hug goodbye. Morgen, as might be expected of any 3-year-old boy, had other plans in mind. Rather than some goopy sentimental hug, he decided wrestling and playing football with Eliot was a better idea. So here are some of the attempts at catching on camera Eliot's failed hug attempts and Morgen's "ready, set, hike!" antics. The pictures get fuzzier as you go, but I love the bottom one especially.

Thank heavens for good friends!