Pi Kappa Mine

Dear D,

The first aid that night was a little shoddy. Then again, someone could ask why I was using a steak knife to cut through a 24-pack of water. For all that I've managed to face head-on, I could not look at the laceration on my thumb. It made me feel dizzy and nauseous. And after my parents and their friends got crazy with the kitchen faucet, it was clear that my wet clothes would need to be changed.

It was the first time the Pi Kappa Phi sweatshirt and I would become friends. Your suitcase was in our dining room, so I took advantage of the access. Somehow that souvenir of a fraternity party gave me comfort. And, OK, those shorts that said "Ski with the big dogs" would make anyone laugh until all wounds were forgotten.

You left after spring break, but that shirt did not. I've updated you from time to time about where it traveled in your absence, proving that it was of much more value to me in Pennsylvania than for you in Texas. That list continues to grow, as you will see:

-Slumber parties with the girls, while singing our rendition of Steppenwolf and Tina Turner. Thinking it was acceptable to drink Jolly Rancher Zimas during Spring 2000 B.V. (Before Vodka). Riding in Shathole. Pairing it with missed deadlines and light green pajama pants (which I still have).

-To Texas while visiting you, and I actually needed it because, with all that air conditioning, I've never been so cold in my life.

-Thursday nights B.V. which involved the Zilla show and hanging out in his room afterward. We weren't solving the energy crisis, but we were becoming best friends.

-THAT Summer. It wasn't really cold enough, but comfort doesn't yield to the seasons. I threw that on many nights after visiting Carrie, laying in my bed, staring at the ceiling, wishing I could breathe for her.

-I kept it in the car during the East Coast road trip I took with Beth, just in case. And I think I actually did put it on while we were in Maine.

-That fall which followed. 9/11 changed our world. And I wore that shirt while walking to the Point with friends, watching Saturday Night Live hosted by Derek Jeter and seeing "Playing by Heart" one more time with my best friend before she graduated and moved out.

-Even London donned it a few times through that winter--just because it made him more cuddly.

-It was the best maternity and postpartum sweatshirt a single mom could ask for. It went to the hospital with me, and it was actually on while we talked and you told me so bluntly, "You being a single mom may not attract as many men, but it will sure weed out the shitty ones." So true.

-It was the best maternity and postpartum sweatshirt a married mom could ask for. And while it did not go to the hospital with me, because I had become equally attached to some of Lar's hoodies, it got a lot of use during those first spring walks with the baby.

-Even Larry recognizes that it's more mine than yours. Some of our best conversations have happened while I've been wearing that sweatshirt, pajama pants and a ponytail. It inspires coziness. It's the fabric equivalent of sitting by a fireplace with a cup of tea. Such was the case while I was pregnant with Ty, and we'd stay up forever, talking about our dreams and wondering what our newborn would be like. Such was the case this weekend while I was sick--but not too much to lose our American Idol game! After the company had gone home, we found ourselves in another one of those conversations. And it was beautiful.

Hopefully, the next time I wear it, I'll be calling you from New York.

C