The Luckiest

Everyone should have a friend like my best friend Laura; someone who just gets you, who knows how to cheer you up, make you laugh, and renew your outlook on life.

I have been struggling for a few weeks to balance the end of the semester, finals, work, and a few other less tangible sources of stress--giving me very vivid dreams and trouble sleeping again. Laura is one of a number of great friends and family who are incredibly supportive, above and beyond expectation.

Imagine how surprised I was last night when I got my mail on my route home and found a present from her inside. In response to a particularly memorable dream I had last week in which I was angst-ridden and wearing traditional Dutch clothing (love me though I'm completely bizarre), Laura created the following:

So, now I have my own personalized t-shirt with a grayscale watercolor of a girl in traditional Dutch attire, a tulip, and an inspirational quote from Mr. Dutch, Vincent van Gogh. I also got some perspective...I might have really weird dreams when I am stressed out and angsty, but at least I'm not deranged enough to cut off my own ear. So, thanks a million to one of my favorite people ever. I hope everyone has a friend like this: compassionate, hilarious, and talented. By no means is this Laura's first customink.com creation...I think they should give Laura her own online boutique for her Lodesigns.

Now I'm off to Metro on over to SE, wearing my shirt, to sequester myself in a certain basement apartment and do a PowerPoint on Metro Baltimore growth management and about nine loads of laundry.