I Miss College--Part Two

Today, I spent the day here....

Yes, my sister-in-law pledged Kappa Delta, and I couldn't be more excited for her!  She had a phenomenal rush experience, and she's elated!

I guess I'm going to have to start liking teddy bears, green and white, and white roses. 

I do feel like I should point something out.  Make no mistake, our future children will wear owls.  Yes, boy or girl, they will wear owls.  Their aunt can buy them teddy bears, and I won't forbid it.  Their nursery will be done in owls.  Their aunt can come visit, but she will not brainwash them into Kappa Delta.  Of this I am certain.

I'm only halfway kidding.  And by saying that on the blog, I probably just jinxed our future children to be ALL boys.  Would now be a good time to point out the my brother dates a Kappa Delta as well?

Anyway, for those of you who aren't Greek, have never been Greek, and care nothing about being Greek, this post will mean nothing to you.  And for that, I would apologize, except Greek Life meant so much to me that I won't.

So of course, being back on the row made me miss college again.  If you haven't read I Miss College--Part One {that is titled Friday Fun Finds {8/12/11}}, you should click on the link and read it.  I truly miss college.

But more than anything in the world, I miss this place...



Aka, my absolute favorite place in the world. 

The memories started on this day seven years ago, and I was so blessed by God's incredible plan for my life.  Little did I know then the journey He had in store for me with Chi Omega and the friendships that would abound within her walls!

On pref night of our recruitment. These pictures aren't embarrassing at all!  Haha. But they were a sweet and special time!

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Then came bid day!  Sessums 324 was covered with two little wise owls perched on our door.  This of course was before the explosion of owls in retail!

I'm sure that you have seen some of these photos if you've been around the blog awhile. I would have to tell my freshman self how important it is to take as many photos as your memory card can stand.  Because I took 5.  Yes, FIVE.  Not six, but five.  There is one that is missing and it is a copy of a photo that is in my scrapbook.  It's of my friend Katherine Wiley and I.  Knowing that the photo exists is applicable to this post.

This day, while super awkward to be surrounded by 200 people that I didn't know, would have to go down as one of the best days of my life.  I look back on the FIVE photos that I took, and every single lady in yellow has grown to mean so much to me.

I would have no way of knowing it at the time, but every relationship from that first "official" day at the Chi Omega house, God would take, mold, and use for a specific part of my life.  It is obvious to me looking back that He intended to bless  me with a friend who possessed a characteristic that I did not.

I look at these girls in YELLOW, and...

They all got me through some tough times.
They all made me laugh when things weren't going well.
They all played practical jokes with me.
They knocked five times on the wall to signal we were going to bed. {inside joke}
They had RENT movie marathons during final exams with me.
They cried with me.
They stayed up late with me talking about boys.
They stayed up late with me crying about boys.
They stayed up late with me laughing about boys.
They walked with me through a broken heart, and I shared in a few of theirs.
They were the first people to call my bluff on not liking David.
They were the first people I called when David and I got engaged.

They were ALL bridesmaids in my wedding. 

And I met them all on this day.  Don't get me wrong, I met a few more throughout the years in college.  I met a few more of my bridesmaids in the week after Bid Day {and I have photos to prove it}.  But I never could have known at that time just exactly WHAT these girls {who wandered into my FIVE bid day photos} would mean to me.

I guess that's why I'm struggling so much with wanting to do it all over again in my sister in law's place.  I wish at Bid Day 2004 I had taken note of the back of my tshirt.  It read...

"You can have diamonds, and you can have men. But Chi O's my dear are a girls best friend."

Because if I had paid attention to what I was wearing instead of just the Greek letters on the front, I would have realized that I was surrounded by the people that would stand with me throughout a lifetime. 

I have no idea how God brought these girls and gave them to me.  Maybe it was through meeting all of these girls in the RED shirts.  All I know is that He had chosen them for me before I was even created in my Mother's womb.

"Your eyes saw my unformed body;
   all the days ordained for me were written in your book
   before one of them came to be."  --Psalm 139:16

God knew exactly how rush was going to turn out before I even was formed.  That's one crazy detailed God. And for that, I am thankful.

God picked them out.  Me being at the Chi Omega was no mistake. Me meeting these girls was no accident.  He ordained the entire thing.

"Chi Omega friendship is worth more than gold,

Its not had for the asking, no place is it sold.

You can't find it in a book or on a shelf...

You just have to be a Chi Omega yourself!"

And the same can be held true for my sister in law, Danielle and her new sorority.  God ordained her steps in August of 2011 just as He was faithful to do for me in August of 2004. God of faithfulness and details.  And I could list so many more characteristics!

So as I stood outside of the place that Danielle will call home for four years, I was flooded with these emotions.  Not only was I jealous of her, I found myself standing back on the curb, taking photos, and wondering....Who will she play practical jokes with, and which ones will help dry tears when they inevitably come over serious and mundane events in college?  Who will be the ones to swing on the front porch with her?  Which of the girls in the photos above will be seen in wedding photos and albums for years to come? 

Who will be her Bethany Shipp?  Her Megan Fly?  Her Anna Tadlock?  And her sweet Katherine Wiley?

Because, I feel certain that I met them today--that I took some photos with them in them.  I could see my friends faces in theirs.  Seven years ago. Man.

And so with that, I choose to lose my August blues, live in the present, and remember that I HAVE my Bethany Shipp, my Megan Fly, my Anna Tadlock, and my sweet Katherine Wiley.  I have MANY more from my Chi Omega house as well that I could name and tell stories about.  In fact, I'll join a few of them for a bachelorette party this coming weekend.  I choose to trust that the faithful, detailed God I serve will be just as faithful and detailed in the coming seven years as He has been in the past seven years.  He knows the plan He's orchestrating far better than I.  I choose to trust that while we may live miles and miles apart, nothing can separate us from each other!  And this fall, when I see sorority girls with Greek stickers at football games and letter t-shirts on campus, or when my sis in law comes home proudly displaying her all sorority t-shirt wardrobe, it will bring a smile to my face, and I'll be thankful for the present while remembering sweet memories of precious friends.  I'll be thankful that we're not at the end.  Those four years were simply the beginning of a lifelong of friendships.  We'll even welcome our first new addition to the group in February {woo hoo for our new little hootie hoo #1 for Kat}.  The August blues have officially ended.

How elated am I for Danielle?  Words cannot describe!

Alright girls, who's planning the reunion this year?  I vote for the beach!

I nominate you Meg Fly! Seven years later, and we still find ourselves on the row!