terrypurple73 | much happiness

A fantastic weekend. Codak and Jen came to visit, and it was beyond great to see them. We went out Friday night, dancing at Rodeo, which I knew they would love. They got to meet the whole crowd from home (Jenn, Annette, Mana, Rob, Zimmy, Shannon) almost, so that was good for everyone. Everyone got to understand who I mean when I talk about the others. We just got to act crazy, dance around, and, more frequently, pretend we could dance. Codak proved to be quite the dance teacher, Shannon actually learned line dances and brought in her own twirls, Mana and Annette won prizes, I was reminded of what a good dancer Zim is, Jen kept thanking me for taking her out dancing (especially with a crowd of mostly girls), and we all had a really fun time. Afterwards, before we continued on to Perkins, Jen, Codak, and I stayed at my house for a little bit chatting with my dad and eating a pre-Perkins snack. And a fun time was had by all, and that was only the first night! Jen and I stayed up talking even later, and then we all slept until it was almost time to go to RENT the next afternoon! Beth wasn’t able to come at the last minute, so Zimmy came with instead, and it was really nice to spend time with him again. I haven’t seen him in at least a year, probably closer to two years. And the show was a lot of fun. I began to feel like a bit of a RENT snob, doing more critiquing than I’ve done on other occasions. The show really was good, though, and Zim and Codak enjoyed themselves. (Jen and I already knew we would, so.... J) We came back to my house and had a good tasty dinner with my dad before those two went out dancing (again!) with Jen’s friend Mike. So I relaxed for the evening with Mana and her family (and Marcellus and Jason! haha). Today, I got to spent time with myself before the dancing fools woke up, and with just Codak before we woke Jen up at 1:15. So I feel like I did get in some one-on-one time with both of them, too. We just had some great talks, hugs, and cuddles. It felt so good to see them, as if I was back home with the people who deal with the everyday me, the me who goes to classes, the me who often craves physical contact, the me who can let loose, but not before warming up first, the me who is so easy-going about what happens, as long as I have some idea of it beforehand. These are the kind of people I love being around- those “happy people” that I (and Mana!) crave. I love trusting them to just come into my house at four in the morning, and I love how they got along with everyone I introduced them to as they walked in my door, and I love how they will be honest and upfront. Not that my other friends don’t meet these qualifications, but it was refreshing to have Jen and Codak’s attitudes around for the whole weekend. Maybe part of it was that it was nice to live with college students again, to share a room with someone else, to know that another friend was sleeping right down the hall. To have plans, excitement, hugs. To have a big group together, but also one-on-one time. And we didn’t over-do it with each other either, since I spent time at Mana’s last night while they went out. I appreciated the silliness that infested the weekend, between Codak trying to untie Jen’s shirts, the questions of which of Codak and Taylor’s friends Jen would marry, and the remarks about who looked hot in what color clothing. I think it was just a weekend I really needed. And even though it was tiring (not even for me as much as for them!), it was worth it so much. We all needed this, and I’m beyond glad they got their rear ends up here. Even if Codak still doesn’t understand the true wonderfulness of Minnesota (lakes, seasons, gray ducks, etc.), I might keep him and his fabulous housemate around anyway.