365 Days to 30/365 People Who Were Along for the Ride

Day #345 - Elaine H.

Elaine is a good, longtime friend of my aunt Debbie. She (and her kids) feel more like family now! When I was younger I would babysit Elaine’s kids, Alexandra and Andy. They are now grown up (going to college and law school!) but I’m glad that they are still a part of our family’s life. I really only say that because they were some of the kids I actually enjoyed babysitting. ;)

Day #344 - Debbie S.

Well, who knows where life will take me? But Debbie S., the daughter of one of my mom’s oldest friends, will always be the first wedding I photographed.

Day #343 - Diane

Diane is the wife to Bob, and together they own a good percentage of Bethany Beach retail space, including the five and dime that is a central part of the town. Bob and Diane were (and I assume still are) quite a team. You didn’t mess with Diane – she was a tough boss and kept people on their toes, but she was very loyal to her employees that decided to stick around. I will see her in town from time to time – she has long since forgotten me, but I haven’t forgotten her!

Day #342 - Dan V.

Dan was a good guy friend all throughout college. We always had fun with Dan and his buddies and he always looked out for us (I felt). He had a fun off campus house that was always a good place for a party. It’s where we had the fortune of hanging out with Guster one night!

Day #341 - Lauren

I can’t remember Lauren’s last name. Maybe my friend Cameron can help. Lauren was our friend Billy’s cousin and we spent a lot of time with her the summer between our junior and senior year in high school (I think?)

Lauren worked for the Wilmington Blue Rocks and we spent A LOT of that summer at the stadium and at Blue Rocks games. And Lauren always hooked us up. We were constantly winning the fan contests that summer and one game I was the “sweetheart of the game” where I was escorted by a player out on to the field and given a box of chocolates and some roses. Ha!

Day #340 - Cindy S.

Cindy is one of my Maryland scrapbooking buddies (who is now much more than a scrapbooking friend). I met her a few years ago at my buddy Erin’s house when we all got together to scrapbook.

Cindy is sweet and has a great laugh. I have always enjoyed our dinners, movies, and other times together. This year she took a leap and opened her own scrapbooking business and I’m so happy for her success.

Day #339 - Dr. E.

The guardian angel I’ve never met. The vet who saved Charmer’s life.

When we put our house on the market near Annapolis, Charmer went to stay at Grandma and Grandpa’s up in Pennsylvania. And she got sick. Really, really sick. My mom took her to her vet, Dr. E. They didn’t know what was causing the symptoms and did everything to diagnose her – from xrays to exploratory surgery to see if there was something in Charmer’s belly that shouldn’t be there.

And I don’t know what happened, but Dr. E. had some sort of revelation that Charmer’s immune system was attacking itself. And that revelation literally saved Charmer’s life. She was quickly put on a cocktail of prescriptions – including steroids. It was a rocky road. But I have no doubt that Charmer is still here today because of Dr. E.

Day #338 - Molly C.

Mollster! Molly Marine! What to call her?

I met Molly the first week of freshman year. I’m pretty sure Sharon (my roommate) met her first through their engineering classes and introduced us to Molly, who lived down the hall from us. Sharon, Molly, Meckenzie, and I quickly became a tight group – playing basketball with the boys and pulling down each other’s athletic shorts on the way up the stairs back to our dorm from our 4:30 p.m. dinners (yes, we ate like senior citizens).

Molly was always fun. She knew how to have a good time and most of my best college memories involve Molly - from kegs on ice (another safe social excursion) to her 21st birthday party. Our senior year, Molly decided to walk on to the soccer team. Yup, just like that. And she did.  Senior year, when most of our classmates were planning post-grad trips, Molly was helping me plan our wedding as the maid of honor. I was proud to have her up there with us.

After graduating, Molly took a really great job with UPS (she was an industrial engineering major at Lehigh), but after a few years decided that she wanted to do more. And most of you know what that more was – joining the Marines, going to flight school, and eventually becoming a helicopter pilot. And somewhere in there, she met Jeff – her husband and another great guy.
I am proud to know Molly and to be her friend. She just returned from her second trip oversees – this time Afghanistan (last time it was Iraq). I think her entire friends and family sighed a collective sigh of relief.

Day #337 - Julie N.

Julie was a coworker of mine at the Naval Academy. She worked in IT. I have always maintained that it’s good to have a friend in your company’s IT office. I loved to hear Julie’s IT stories (people who complained about their computer not working when it wasn’t actually turned on, etc.)

I also admired Julie because in her heart of hearts she knew that IT wasn’t what she wanted to do and decided to go to nursing school. I recently caught up with her and that’s exactly what she did. Good for her.

Day #336 - Brett H.

Brett was Ken’s plebe year roommate at the Naval Academy and they stayed roommates for all four years at the Academy.

Brett is a good guy. Period. He’s dependable, fun, and a good friend. Ken and I started dating at the end of their senior year and got engaged when he and Brett were in the early stages of flight school together in Florida. Many fun days were spent with Brett and his wife Andrea. It was just a few days after their wedding that we got engaged ourselves.

I like spending time with Brett (and Andrea) because it’s easy. They are easy friends. They are now the parents to two really beautiful children, Grace and Griffin.

A few years ago, we found out that Brett had cancer. No one deserves cancer, obviously, but especially someone who adds so much value to the world like Brett. He fought like no other and the cancer is now in remission. He is in my thoughts every day.