BRRRRRRRRRRENDA!

Roommates--now there's a group of people that could fill up my soul spotlights for the rest of eternity! I had some great ones and some good ones, some weird ones and some normal ones, temporary and long-term, outgoing and shy, you name it! But one of the very most cherishable of them all was BRRRRENDA Copley!

I could rarely call her just Brenda. It's always BRRRRENDA!

When we signed up for another year at Regency, we saw a new girl's name, Brenda, and could hardly wait to meet her. Because who even is named Brenda anymore?! So we tried to imagine just what she would be like, whether she would like us (the 4 of us were quite loud and outgoing) and what kinds of things she did like.

Oh when we met her! It was the perfect moment of having expectations for someone and having them fulfilled and then shortly thereafter very much exceeded!

A story for every part of BRRRENDA, cap a pie:

Hair: BRRENDA has CRAZY hair. It is curly and long and bushy, but she knows exactly how to maintain it and often wears a little flower clip in it, which is endearing. One of the very first weeks she moved in, the twins asked if they could help her curl it. She of course said, as she always did to any kind of question, comment or concern, "okaaaaaay...." and before a second went by, Rach and Chels were circling around her brushing then straightening then pulling then bunching then curling. It took a long time. So long, in fact, that with all that standing and all that pulling and heat, Brenda couldn't take it. She eventually ended up barfing in the sink! :( Especially becuase we were new friends and she was shy, we all felt SO bad, but after taking a little rest and tying her hair up in a ponytail, she came out of her room and said..."Well, now I know. Curl till you hurl!"

Eyes: Brenda always wore these awesome pink 50's sunglasses! haha!

Ears: The first time my parents came to visit after Brenda moved in, I told my dad what hawk-like ears my new roommate had. Our apartment featured a kitchen at the front with a long hall of three bedrooms, Brenda's at the very back. I told my dad I would demonstrate and stood in the kitchen, facing the hallway. Then I quietly whispered, "Brrrrenda!" and from down at the very end of her hall behind her closed bedroom door came the reply in a whisper, "What?" Hawk-like ears!

Brain: Ok, I'll just say it. She's kinda nerdy. LOVES LOTR. But also VERY smart. She was a business student and we would walk to the Tanner building every day together, which we lovingly nicknamed "Eldon," the boy we spent all our time with and reserved Friday nights for but had a rather cold-shouldered personality. When she got into the business school, Dan Jones wrote her a song which has become legend and goes something like, "BRRRenda-ah-ah, BRRenda-ah-ah-ah, BRREnda-ah-ah you rock!"

Torso: We lived through some pretty crazy roommates, Brenda and I, but her tender heart loved them all. Brenda is so easy-going and tolerant, so amiable and flexible, so chill. She patted us all when we experienced heartbreak and celebrated with us in our moments of triumph. She giggled for years about her missionary, and even when that story ended rather sadly, her heart was enduring and practical. Her heart has enough room for every cat in the world, including every Kat and all other roommates she stood by. She's got a tender heart, that one! And speaking of her torso, her stomach was always happy with some cereal for breakfast and mac 'n' cheese for dinner:)

Arms: One time Brenda came into town for my wedding and we wanted her to sleep on the bed but she just refused and laid on the floor. Too bad for her we lifted her up by her arms and legs and laid her right on that bed! And, as always, she was tolerant and laughed.

Legs: No legs have ever been able to run away from a camera fast than BRRENDA's. She hated having her picture taken, but again, tolerated us when we just couldn't resist capturing her great Brendaness! Also, she didn't have a car but walked everywhere and was perfectly content in doing so.One time I convinced her to help me find a new swimsuit and we went to Big 5. When we got there, there was a sign on the door that said, "Please Use Other Door." I don't know why I assumed that meant the one that didn't actually exist on the other side of the building in the dark sketchy alley haha instead of the one right next to the sign, but Brenda just willingly walked with me to figure it out. And copiously made fun of me after that haha!

Ok one more story about her legs, one time we convinced her to come hike the Y with us at like 5 in the morning, because she wanted to make absolute sure she made it to class on time. We left so early and we just pushed her and pushed her and lied to her about how far we had gone until we just finally couldn't even go on anymore and she sat on the trail. haha we were so pushy and crazy, but she was so good natured to us.

Ok, just one more. When Elise got married, she flew out for the wedding (uh hi. She did that for mine too. Such a good friend!) Anyway, we told Lise we'd pick up the flowers and take them to the temple. Little did we know that they came in a HUGE cooler that took up most of my backseat, but Brenda was so willing to just squeeze her legs (and the rest of her) in the little 4 inches of space and drive for an hour and a half. haha so enduring.

Feet: Slippers! Every morning and night. So endearing.

I love Brenda so much! Between thinking "We fell in love in a hopeless place" was "homeless place" and laughing together about the crazy people we knew, making fun of boys in our ward ("I was impressed.....uponbythespirittoleave!"), walking to meet Eldon every day, squeezing on the bed with her to do homework, getting mature advice from her and on and on and on, she will always be such a dear friend to me. Tolerant and accepting and kind and adaptable, not to mention slyly hilarious and witty, I'm so glad she was the random roommate in our apartment.

BRRRenda-ah-ah-ah, BRRRenda-ah-ah-ah, BRRenda-ah-ah you rock!