Theresa

So... first, it's been way too long since I posted a new entry and that needs to be rectified. Second, I fear my laptop is going to finally die from the slow death it's been suffering the past few months and before it does, I need to transfer the personal essays I wrote in 2011 as part of my then New Year's resolutions into some other format before they are lost forever. What better place than my long inactive Blog! So, here we go starting with an essay I wrote about my college roommate/maid-of-honor/Godmum to my son.

Theresa, My Fly Girl

Theresa is the friend by which I gauge all other persons.  If Theresa does not care for someone or is not liked by another, I can only assume that person is not worthy of my own friendship.  However, I have yet to meet a person that does not like Theresa after spending even a minimal amount of time with her as she is funny and delightful, welcoming and inviting, compassionate and caring.  And besides, she can hold her drink, and her tongue -- two important traits to look for in a true friend.

(I wrote the above passage in Theresa’s birthday card for her 35^th birthday in January 2009, and it lent itself to writing an essay about Theresa, our friendship and the important role she plays in my life, which follows below and was originally written in March 2011.)

I met Theresa Widmann by the luck of the draw.  Senior year in high school I made the decision to go to the University of Wisconsin (Madison) for college.  My plan was to room with my best friend, Kristin Shafer, and to major in journalism.  Neither of those things ended up happening.  For one of two possible reasons, Kristin and I did not get placed into the same dorm room together.  I’ve never questioned her about it, but I believe that Kristin had a change of heart and decided not to request me as her roommate.  (Though, that is also likely the paranoid part of me that doubts coincidences). In any event, while I would have adored rooming with Kristin, I do believe everything worked out for the best as I met and became friends with an interesting group of women that I otherwise might not have met, and likewise for Kristin.  Kristin and I did end up in the same dorm (Sellery A), but on different floors (me on 7, she on 9).  We remained friends and even took an introductory journalism class together, but not being roommates definitely affected how close our friendship was for a time.  I branched out and made new friends.  (With the luxury of hindsight, this is very similar to what happened to me in the transition from middle to high school and how I become friends with Kristin in the first place.)

The most important friend I made was Theresa.  She was my randomly assigned roommate in room 762 in Sellery A dormitory at 821 W. Johnson Street in MADTOWN.  In the summer of 1992, Theresa and I wrote a couple of letters back and forth giving each other a brief introduction of ourselves (we even sent the other our senior photo) and we coordinated via telephone what the other was bringing in terms of a microwave, toaster, etc.  Based on Theresa’s photo and our conversations via letter and telephone, I had a certain image of her in my mind.  When I met her on the day we moved into the dorm, I was a little surprised and even somewhat scared.

Theresa was dressed like a “Fly Girl” and looked like she could kick my ass.  But I very quickly learned that she was wonderful, and almost 20-years later she is still one of my very best friends and was in fact, my maid-of-honor and is now Finnbar’s God-mum.  (Kristin is Clare’s God-mother.)

Theresa as my maid-of-honor during my bridal shower @ Jonathan Edward's Winery in Connecticut. May 2005.

Theresa & I sharing a laugh in Charlestown, RI on July 4, 2005

Enjoying some incredible live music at the Newport Folk Fest in August 2010.