Ginger Turns 30!

FRIENDSHIP, LOVE, AND MILK IN MUGS

i came to clemson in january of 1997 and assume that i met you soon after.
i believe that i was introduced to you at a clemson fca meeting in tillman.
if my memory serves me correct, you were wearing the signature braids and a
sweet, southern smile. as i reflect on the years since then and my most
vivid memories of you, i am fairly certain that some of my favorites are
seemingly insignificant and that you may not even remember most of
them...but they are my favorites none the less.

i remember listening to you and chad (who would later become my husband)
give a wednesday night bible study lesson at dcf on trials. i remember a.)
being jealous that you were getting to sit next to chad :) and b.) you
saying that a trial was a "joy stealer". to this day, when i think about
trials and hardships, i think of it in terms of something attempting to
steal my joy. i love that definition. you were always able to shine a
light on scripture and make me see something in a way that i had never seen
it before.

i remember coming to hang out in your dorm room and looking at your art box
that held all of your neatly placed markers. i remember thinking..."she's
one organized individual!" i remember looking at your binder filled with
all the magazine ads that you liked, which were neatly tucked into clear
sleeves and thinking how simply creative you were. i remember sitting on
some sort of couch in your room and having mugs of cold milk...your most
treasured beverage...and thinking that having it in a mug really did make it
taste better. i still love to have my milk in a mug.

i remember several things about you from my wedding day. i remember that
you did not have a barrette for your hair, so you sent some of the boys to
the mall to get you one. i remember you quietly watching me put on my eye
shadow in the mirror in the bridal suite. i remember asking you to pray as
the wedding was starting before we all went downstairs to enter. i can't
remember exactly what you prayed, but i remember the calm that came over me
at that moment that lasted through the rest of the evening. i remember you
and tj dancing for the first time at the reception to lady in red and i LOVE
that it is captured on our wedding video.

i remember when we came to charleston for the xpansion beach retreat and you
and tj came in right after getting engaged. i remember sitting on the floor
and you coming over, sitting down and showing me the ring to tell me what
had just happened. i remember the ring being too big, but you made tj let
you wear it anyway because you wanted him to know that you "were
responsible." i remember being too close to my due date with colton to be
able to travel to your wedding and how disappointed i was. the oversized,
never worn bridesmaid's dress still hangs in my closet with all the others.

happy 30th birthday ginger. i hope that you feel as celebrated as you truly
are!!

love and all the best wishes to you,
mindy

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