Goodnight Julia

To celebrate my single digit birthday’s, it was tradition for my grandmother and grandfather to take me to Wal-Mart, so I could choose a gift. Every year, I would select a poster that reflected an interest of the past 365 days. My most cherished poster is the country heartthrob, Billy Ray Cyrus. My family always said I had the Cyrus Virus, because I had a crush on him the size of Texas. Achy Breaky Heart was my favorite song, and it reminds me of the rides in my cousin’s car. I always wanted Monica to babysit me because she went to prom with my childhood crush, Chad Holland, she cheered for the Wildcats at Trammel Stadium and she wore my favorite lip-gloss. We would ride in her car, and I always requested a specific country cassette. I never sold my Billy Ray poster in a yard sale, because he is an important memory from my childhood. So for Emily’s birthday two years ago, I wanted to give her something she could remember forever. As our friendship formed, I quickly learned her favorite movie was My Best Friend’s Wedding, so from there, I look the initiative to order the 27 x 40 poster from Amazon. My grandmother owns a frame shop, and we had a few phone discussions to decide the proper outline for Julia Roberts. Rebecca brought Julia and all her glory back to Auburn the weekend before Emily’s birthday, and when I went to her house on Norwood Avenue I was shocked to see the size the gift. Julia and I fought our way down the hall of Berta Dunn, and Jordon helped me position her onto Em’s bed while she was in class. Julia is our very own Mona Lisa. Jordon, Annie, Emily and I wished Julia a goodnight as we crawled into bed, we placed her in the window for display, and we had big plans of driving her around town. To me, Julia represents our wonderful year on the ADPi Hall. We were members of a 24-hour slumber party, and it wasn’t unusual for our President to knock on the door and issue a strict, be quite. The poster reminds me of mine and Annie’s late night talks in the bathroom, Jordon’s cravings for Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts and Em’s In-Flu-Enza nightgown and slightly broken eyeglasses. So today, not only do we have Groundhog’s Day to celebrate, but we also have Emily Harmon’s birthday to celebrate. Here’s to you Em, thanks for allowing me to be the person I am, thanks for loving me unconditionally and thanks for always being there for me. You love the Lord and your life exemplifies His character. You are joyful, uplifting and of course, down to earth. So from Julia and me, good morning Emily and Happy Birthday.