18 February 2007

from the heart

{a little background before i begin. whitney is my cousin. born five months after me, we have been best friends for as long as i can remember - luckily she survived the tormenting period of our youth. when we were six i would push her off of my bunk bed when we were playing Cruise, since she wouldn't jump on her own. in my mind, i was saving her life, the boat was about to sink. i was a lot more tough love at the time, while she was sweet & sensitive. but now, she is a lot more daring/gutsy than i, so i feel that i can take credit in training her.

we then became more than forever pals while swimming the long summers away and having mom drape towels over us while we laid our little shivering bodies on the warm cement before another jump off the high dive. we loved doing a push up to look at our body prints. imprinting our wet suits onto the dry cement made pictures we would laugh at.

we would go home with our hair wet and slicked, trade clothes and talk about her boyfriend - tyler - and my boyfriend - quinton- and then move onto dressing up for our concert. we would inevitably gloss our lips with her mom's Wet n' Wild lipstick and borrow abby's dangly earrings. we each only got one - we had to share the best pair. we'd pick out the tape, shove it in and press play. the boombox would blast Wilson Phillips and she & i would bring down the house. we knew (and still know) every word to 1990 classics such as 'Release Me' & 'Hold On'.

In later years, we would use our singing experience to gain the roles of head choreographers & dancers to a rendition of Newsies in my basement; which i will spare you the details of.}

i cannot remember when the birthday gift creations all started. perhaps in high school, when i brought her that gi-normous collage dedicated to us wishing we have been born as twins. i remember it was such a large poster of pics, it took up the whole third seat in my mom's mini van on our way to check whit out from school and take her for a birthday lunch. (there was always a thrill in going to another high school. especially hers, wherein there was a whole new world that i could take a peek into. i knew all about her friends, whose locker was next to hers and stories about that law enforcement class she took again & again because of the cute young cop who taught it.)


somehow the tradition of creating a gift for one another has captured us and we can't let it go. whit & i love to collage our little hearts out. she does magic with her fingers & i have fortunately been on the receiving end for years & years.. i only wish she blogged because i could introduce you to her creative genius. all this explanation to simply say, i have posted pics of this year's creation. 25 words for whit:: an accordion book collage.


it is getting difficult to think of something new to make year after year. but i suppose that is the challenge for even the masters. it is so fun to do this once a year for someone who, i know, will appreciate the efforts. i do hope she likes it.

5 comments:

Travelin'Oma said...

I wish I had a recording of all the giggling that went on. That would complete the memory!

Erin said...

Mart,
You sent me your link a few months back and I have been checking in occasionally to catch up on your life. Thanks for filling me in. I loved the post about Whitney. You guys have such a neat relationship. I'm glad EFY brought me in connection with you two. Whit even roped me into Law Enforcement my junior year. Happy Birthday Whit!

Lots of love,
Erin Oakeson Shaha

Erin said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ali said...

You amaze me!

Deidra said...

I found your blog through the swap and was just looking through the archives. I have a younger (she's 10 months younger) cousin, Whitney. We grew up the best of friends, her somehow putting up with me. I would boss her around and always appoint myself leader, or president, or whatever! We got to be roommates and neighbors in college, which was the best. I loved hearing abour your cousin. Yay for Whits!

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