An Anniversary

Every group has a social coordinator. Someone has to take charge and plan the activities. I’ve heard wrangling our group compared to herding cats. We didn’t typically follow directions well. But never-the-less, we were herded or wrangled or what have you into some of the most fun and creative events I’ve ever been a part of. I’m told it’s a rather exclusive and desired position to be a part of this group. I was lucky enough that my wonderful cousin Tyson was already in the group so I was just grandfathered in. Our social coordinator extraordinaire is Deela. I will never know where she comes up with her ideas.

Not six weeks after I moved to Anchorage I found myself at her house making a Viking-ess costume for a Halloween party. It ended up being an animal print skirt and top ordeal that took her about 20 minutes to sew together. (I believe Steph has proof of said costume though I strangely have no pictures of any of my Alaska Halloween costumes). That was only the beginning. In the years following we had crazy themed birthday parties (80’s, Chuck Norris, etc.), monthly gatherings of Wine Hoes, bachelor auctions, and to top it off a Pink Nugget Anti-Triathalon where we hopscotched and crabwalked our way from breakfast, to the spa, to mimosas at the Pioneer. And every event comes with it’s own custom made koozie and sometimes with T-shirts. Seriously, I defy you to find a social coordinator better than this.

Besides these events there was late night sledding and rented cabins in Girdwood. There were also Sundays at the Dahlstrom-Roe household. Family dinner we called it. One of us cooked and then we laid around watching movies or playing Wii. Instead of dreading Sunday as the last day of the weekend, it became a day to look forward to.

A year ago today I was honored to fly home to Anchorage for a week and be a part of her wedding. Even now, a year later, I think I’m still recovering from the festivities. It is one of the most fun weeks I’ve ever been a part of. And it’s even better because I got to see my friend so happy with such a wonderful man.

So, Happy First Anniversay to you and BRoe, Deela Dahlstrom Roe!! I’m thankful to you for taking me into your home and your life. Thanks for dragging me out of myself and making me live bigger. I miss you on Sunday and every day.

Knitwits

The air is getting colder here and night falls much earlier. There are more dreary days and less sunshine. Christmas music is on the radio and hot cocoa and marshmallows make an evening complete.

On these more dreary evenings, I find myself longing for Alaska. Not because Alaska is typically less dreary. We aren’t exactly known for our winter sunshine. No, I long for Alaska because of my winter time Tuesday nights. You see, in the deep, dark winter of Alaska a girl will find anything to help keep her sane. In my case, my friends and I decided that a knitting group would be a good idea. So, we called up Mama Ayer and told her we needed lessons. She happily complied and our little group was born. We met on Tuesday nights after work at Lucia and Jon’s house. Now, Nan in confined spaces is sort of like a whirlwind of confetti and sparklers. So, after being cooped up in an office all day it could be quite a show. Throw in a toddling Maverick, a Lucia whose been stuck inside with a toddler all day and an only partially-sane-by-the-end-of-the-day middle school teacher and we were quite the little group. Suffice it to say, very little knitting actually occurred. Despite that, Jon dubbed us the Knitwits and we faithfully met every week and we at least brought our needles and yarn with us to keep up appearances.


Instead, we laughed, we drank wine, we vented, we laughed, we knitted a few rows, we played with Maverick, we laughed, we ate, we ate some more (mmmm…rhubarb crisp), probably drank a little more wine and then laughed a little more. Winter is hard and it takes good friends to make it through. It’s sort of like life. And even from 3,000 miles away they’ve been there for me in this strange and difficult year. So, on this Thanksgiving week, I’m thankful for you. I’m thankful for your laughter and your smiles and the fact that I could count on you to show up every week. I still miss you every Tuesday night. I can’t wait until we can Knitwit together again.