Allis

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
~ Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken

Looking over the last five years of my life, I can’t think of a time when Allis hasn’t been there.

Oh, sure, there were vacations when we were a continent apart, times when we were campaigning in Ohio and Oregon respectively. But I can’t remember a time when she wasn’t part of the picture – when I wasn’t looking forward to our next walk around the circle to catch up about… stuff… or planning the year we’d room together at school. When she left school for a semester to campaign in Texas, through the day I would take mental notes and think, “I wonder what Allis would say or think about that. I’ll have to ask her the next time she calls.” Never a time when I didn’t know she would be there when I needed a shoulder… unfortunately that was a privilege much abused in college, and while it has stymied a little out here in the real world, it is a place still sought and found just as comforting. I’ve never doubted that whenever she speaks, her words will be the truth – no matter how uncomfortable, challenging, or difficult it may seem. This ranges from everything from politics to, no, that dress really doesn’t work on you. Never have I met someone so wholly committed to developing a coherent, consistent philosophy. She’s also one of the bravest people I’ve ever met.

I spent many years, in some respects, riding her coattails – you want to go to North Carolina on a lark? I’ll go with you. Campaign work with the RNC? Sure, so long as we call each other at least once a day (and we did). Yes, let’s move back to D.C. and get a townhouse. Even when our offices were in different wings of the Inaugural Committee, I think most people still saw us as attached at the hip. In retrospect I recognize what a lost puppy I may have seemed like sometimes… but I think, maybe that’s just what I needed then. And I haven’t gone through that much withdrawal since she joined the private sector and I started on the Hill. Really. *wry grin*

All this overly sentimental? Perhaps. But I have learned from some of my friends and life itself that you should never wait to tell people how you feel because we just don’t know what a day may bring forth. And since I won’t get to wish Allis a happy birthday in person next year, I figured I could doubly embarrass her this year and also get some of this out *before* she leaves for India in a couple months and I turn into a blithering idiot.

So Allis, here’s to you on your 24^th. Never have I known someone so willing to take the road less traveled by, and done so with such grace and courage. Our freshman year plans of being great political wives or starting our own campaign consulting firm didn’t exactly pan out, but I think we’re both thankful God’s taken us down the paths we’ve followed. More than any of those illusive dreams, I am thankful for the enduring gift of your friendship.