such a long drive

Current Music: Typical Day - Matt Rychek

Okay, I was bored, and I came home and started thinking about Shawn. Or really, continued, but that's not the point. I got to thinking (crap, how did I start thinking about this? Maybe I really am I crazy) about how our names are so similar. You know...

Shawn Edward Regan
Sarah Elizabeth Tollerson

Our initials are almost the same, if you just don't take notice to the difference between R and T. And do you know what the great part is?

The difference is an S, which is like our first initial.

We are so meant for eachother.

Then, you see, I got to thinking about my dad and his best friend of thirty plus years. When I was in sixth grade we visited him in West Virginia at his farm, and for the first time in my life I learned "Uncle Phil's" last name, and noticed a strong similarity between it and Tollerson. Sitting down for a second with a pen and a paper, I came to the astonishing conclusion...

Rolleston
AND
Tollerson

contain the exact same letters. And neither my dad, nor his best friend, noticed this for thirty years.

So my question is, am I strange, or is it them?

But then, you see, I got to thinking and wondering if Shawn's and my name's did anything cool like that. This is what I came up with:

w dwd gn
Sarah Eae rn

The first line is what's left of his name when you try to spell my name. The second is, obviously, what you get of my name using only his letters.

This is it in reverse:

lizbth Tolleso
Shan Ear Rea

How cool am I?

And if that's not enough proof for you, Shawn and I were born in the same hospital... in one of the same four rooms.

And we both play guitar!

And we're both hot!

And we both like pizza.

I eat more than him, though. Hmm...

Posted by Sarah at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Current Music: Close Your Eyes - James Taylor

My oldest sister, Heather, just e-mailed me. It was a forward... I don't know if she sent it to everyone or what exactly, but it's wonderful to know that she is there, checking her e-mail every day, and checking a box next to my name.

Up until four years ago, I saw my sisters nearly every day for a year.

Heather picked Jen and me up from school in her ghetto orange truck, and often drove us through McDonald's to get a low fat ice cream cone. There was one time when Heather asked the woman in the drive-through how many grams of fat were in one, because she wanted to show us how healthy they were, and the woman came back with a reply of "112" or something ridiculous like that. Heather almost had a heart attack, and asked for a sheet of the information herself, and of course the woman had accidentally given us the number of calories, not the grams of fat.

Oh wait, maybe that's only funny if your mom used to edit college nutrition books...

But anyway, then we would cruise around for a few minutes. I was squeezed in the middle (but I guess I really wasn't squeezed because I was probably like 80 pounds then), and Heather and Jenna were on either side of me. I remember listening to Eve 6's "Inside Out" on 99X (her car was too ghetto for a CD player, remember) and they would know all the words, but I would just join in on "find nothing but faith in nothing". It was still awesome though, and probably the first time I had ridden with someone who would blast their music and "speed" down a residential street.

Somehow, I lost my retainer in that car. The orthodontist had told me I only had to wear it one more week, and I had never lost it before. Mom was always trying to make me lose it, I could tell. When we ate out at restaurants I would tuck it neatly into a napkin, and of course she would always choose that napkin to randomly grab and wipe her mouth with and my retainer would go flying across the room, to be rescued by a scrambling me.

It was great.

I miss it. I miss my family as a whole. It's so strange to think that there was a time when I had both sisters right there, living in my house. And it's also so strange to think that this ended four years ago. Heather, Jenna… it’s already been four years. Can you believe it, guys?

Now, it's different. Of course, both of my sisters have moved out, one across the country and the other a half hour away. But no matter what distance there is, we will always be together. My relationship with my sisters is impossible to break. You all know Jenna and how awesome she is, but not many of you know much about Heather, so I’m going to take a little time to tell you about the mystery Tollerson sister.

Since I have *known* Heather, which has not really been my whole life as those close to me know, she has had a huge influence on my life. In sixth grade we went shopping for the basics of make up together, and she showed me how to apply it; in seventh grade she encouraged me, saying that in just a couple of years I would be a "knock-out", and that boys would be fighting for dates with me; in eighth grade she flew me out to Chicago for my first trip away from my parents and taught me how to play pool; in ninth grade she helped me adjust to high school by listening to all my random thoughts and offering advice; and in tenth grade she helped me get over a guy by putting the significance of him into perspective. She has always been there to share her teenage experiences to help me sort out my own, offer advice, and is always loving but never judgmental in her words.

She is my savior in a lot of ways. Without all those words of praise that she offered in middle school, the most insecure time of my life, I doubt I would have the confidence I have today. If it weren't for Heather, I might not believe Shawn when he says I am beautiful, trust a crowd when they applaud wildly for my talent, or have the guts to say the jokes that come to my mind (they are rarely funny, but my loving friends always laugh).

So guys, if you think I'm egotistical... you know who to blame.

I'll see you in November.

Posted by Sarah at 12:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)