If You've Ever Wondered What CMADS Stands for...

One of my best friends has packed up and left St. Louis for a fabulous new job in California.  She has been about five hours away from me for the last few years and now she is…well…a lot more hours away from me.  A blog post about our friendship will not do justice to the awesomeness that is CMADS/LAPTM (more on that later), but it’s worth a shot.

When I went to orientation at Olivet Nazarene University in the summer of 2004, I didn’t have a roommate for room sign-ups.  I had been emailing a potential roommate, but she wasn’t answering my calls once we were both on campus for orientation.  I was talking to my mom about how stressed I was (having a roommate is kind of a big deal) when a girl nearby interjected, saying that she had a friend who didn’t have a roommate yet, either.  This was risky, but we eventually found our way to each other and briefly talked.

This is basically how it went down:

CAITLIN: So…What do you like to do?
LAURRYN: I really like to read.
CAITLIN: Me, too!

We went from there.  We signed up for a room in Parrott Hall.  I’m not sure how much we kept in contact before school started, but I’ll never forget walking into our room on move-in day, seeing a Five Iron Frenzy patch on Caitlin’s bag, and knowing that everything would be okay.

And it was MORE than okay.  We spent the first week eating almost all of our meals together, slowly making new friends.  Over the next four years, we did a bazillion things together.  We both found our future husbands that first semester, we went to concerts, we shopped, we threw parties, we went on trips, we planned weddings, we danced, we had silly and crazy photo sessions, we made up fake names (CMADS – Caitlin Marie Adair Dodson Sansom, containing Caitlin’s full name, fake middle name, and future last name; LAPTM stands for Laurryn Annette Patricia Trojanowski McDaniel) - we had an absolute blast.

I was one of Caitlin's maids-of-honor and Caitlin was my matron of honor, and she threw me an AMAZING baby shower (with awesome co-host Lauren) a few months ago.  We've been there for each other through thick and thin, good times and bad.  I have trouble imagining a more loyal and true friend.

I can't imagine what college would have been like without Caitlin (or the last few years since we've graduated!).  I can’t believe she is SO far away now, but I’m so proud of her for following her dreams and God’s will.  I already miss her so much!

Have fun.
Be careful.
No hickies.
Eat cookies.
Listen to Emery.
Beware of pirates.
Don't watch "Brokeback Mountain."
Don't try to lift a baby panda.
IT'S ALL JUST GOOD ADVICE.