Bridesmaid: Heather

Heather and I became friends in unusual circumstances. Sure, we lived next door to each other in the dorm freshman year at West Virginia Wesleyan. Sure, we had similar interests in the arts. However, I first knew Heather as the girl that I was running for dorm rep against. She had plastered all off the walls of the dorm with her quirky posters. "I know Bob. Vote for Heather Schneider". My group of friends would mock them and I think as went as far as taken one or two down!! Sadly, neither of us got the position... and my days of government were more or less numbered after that.

Wesleyan had a thing called fall break. It was a long weekend in October that most students went home for. Seeing as West Virginia isn't exactly close to home, I was kind of bummed that I had nowhere to go. That's when Tanya (a friend and fellow music major) and Heather invited me to go to James Madison University to a Supertones concert with them. Who were the Supertones? Yeah, I didn't know either. It turned out they were a ska/rock Christian band. We had a great time together. From that point on, Heather and I were inseperable.

I really mean we were inseparable! Heather and I did very few things apart in college. I could probably count on one hand the number of lunches or dinners that weren't shared. We even went on each other's dates. I recall one of her boyfriends telling me that he'd pay for my dinner if I would run around the parking lot. My looking like a fool was payment enough for my meal. I had a fiercely loyal friend in Heather. She was beyond supportive. She gave me confidence when I lacked it. She protected me from mean people! Since I am overly sensitive and nervous at times, I always admired her for her strength and ability to be laid-back. She also has a killer sense of style and eye for art. Basically, in the four years at Wesleyan, Heather became family.

Heather and I were in several shows together. I don't think I would have done theatre if it wasn't for Heather's encouragement. I think that there was more than one occasion where I got to the audition and froze. Heather would always coax me with her "no nonsense" manner. Our first show together was Pippin. We were both in the chorus of Cabaret (although Heather was the brilliance behind the make-up design) and then we both landed leads in the farce Lend Me a Tenor. It was show that Heather shinned as the jealous wife of an Italian operatic tenor. I still use her token "cloze" line.

It was because of my insisting and begging and prodding that Heather pledged Alpha Gamma Delta. That was the only thing that she and I didn't share and I was destined to make her apart of it. Frankly, I hated doing something without my best friend. So, this very independent, feminist joined a sorority. I don't think it particularly fit us entirely. Neither of us were the textbook definition of "sorority girl" but we both made some memories with the organization.

After college, Heather married Kelvin Mason, an art professor at Wesleyan that she became friendly with after college. I guess, they were more than friendly because the fell in love! They lived in West Virginia for a year or two after they were married and now live in a suburb of Chicago. Being hundreds of miles apart and often having opposite schedules has made keeping in touch difficult, but it always seems when we do catch up that time had not gone by, but paused for us.

I am really honored and excited to have Heather as a bridesmaid for our wedding. My marshmallow in the rain. As being one of my dearest friends, I couldn't imagine having a wedding without her there.