welcome to it.

so i'm 28. i've been 28 since 3:49PM this past tuesday. i actually caught the clock right after a meeting at the exact time of 3:49, and i made sure to wait at my desk for three minutes to give a nod to Twin B's arrival at 3:52. i had a solid run around the river with a my wise friend Brian at sunrise, was greeted by some amazing first round protos of our premium neutral shoe that arrived in BETTER shape than i could have ever imagined, and i had a brisk walk to "WICH IT" for lunch where Rose the owner greeted me by name and knew i'd be ordering the Orchard Hill sandwich, [melted bri with cranberry and roasted pears on multigrain bread served warm... ummm i know right?]

28 was off to a better-than- normal start, or so i thought. i didn't know 28 would having me smiling bigger and laughing harder than i have on any first days of any new year for my Sagittarius self.

a little over 5 years ago there were two girls, twins, perusing the Boston marathon expo. one of them looking for running shoes, one of them looking for running shorts that made her look "less boxy"

"Poison (my given nickname at Mizuno) git yer butt over here" (in a stern texas accent), said Mike Rouse (the loud, overly extraverted, biggest hearted Sheriff of all the expo world), "these girls are COOL, and this one FREAKIN looks and acts like you." now, brace yourselves, because one of the most rare occurrences to ever happen, happened on this day. these girls... the twins and claire (aka Poison) completely and utterly hit... it... off... they thought each other was great, fabulous, funny;  and WHEN do girls meet total strangers by happenstance and think each other is great? let's be honest, rarely folks... if ever. we're female.... we're not inclined to just becoming BFF's with any other chick, especially in a loud convention center when a mid-50's man is making the intro's.

Mary and Kay would join the Mizuno crowd that night for dinner at Cottonwood and into the early morning hours at the hotel bar. they'd join us for a 10-miler along the river marathon-day-morning, and they'd join into countless email strings where the foundation of the friendship was built.

if you'd asked me 5 years ago if i thought Mary and Kay would be classified amongst my best friends, fixtures in my lives... i would've told you my instincts tell me, yes. The last few years i have laughed, run, cried while laughing, cried while running, cried at movies, cried about boys (fine, just one), cried and laughed about life with these two. These girls are gems. GEMS. and i am so, so thankful for the day we met. i never thought i'd find myself in Boston, the city where it all began, and where Mary and Kay have so many roots. through them my move back East has been that much easier, and that more fulfilling.

the night of my birthday, Mary and Kay orchestrated a birthday dinner, hosted by a dear friend of theirs (also named Mary and who i am now glad to call my friend and is SUCH an amazing soul). I met Kevin, "a spade's a spade",  (who is adorably endearing and hysterical and really listens when you talk and googles as you're talking and really can't stay but look now he's having a glass and a plate with food on it)... we ate deliciousness, sipped wine, and laughed so incredibly hard. we talked about when Mary left an ad agency to pursue triathlon, her training in Boulder (home for her the last 5 years), and our belief in her and her fierceness as a professional triathlete. we talked about Kay's transition, by choice, into the unknown world but now with the access to a canvas that will let her use her paint brush of thoughts and photo lens of creativity rather than having to keep all of this locked in a glass case right in front of her face... because this is a talented, full soul who should NOT resign said soul to a job that requires soul resigning.. and its simply as simple as that.

because i learned of a new grain that i'll misspell but sounds like "farroh", because the Miller twins emailed my sister's to find out the specific cake flavor and icing color, and because the cake said, "poison". because of this, (eh hem, because of them), i had the most fulfilling entrance into 28 i could've ever asked for.

thank you, Mary and Kay, (PJ and A+) for shopping for running shoes and shorts during my shift, and for being two of the kindest, most fun, most real, genuine friends i could ever hope to meet... by the way of pure happenstance.

here's to twins who are great, *if i don't say so myself ;)

xo,

poison