A princess named Money

All right ladies – in 21 hours I will be enjoying time with my college girlfriends. And I have just one girlfriend left to write about – Dana.

Dana was actually supposed to be born a princess. I can’t prove it, but I’m pretty positive.

She loves all things pink and sparkly and girly. She loves princess movies, too.

I’m not kidding.

The three of us who will also join her on this trip have sat through Ella Enchanted and The Prince and Me. But the thing is, with Dana watching, all excited and believing in true love to the end a.k.a. Charlotte, they’re actually fun to watch.

Dana’s also beautifully unpredictable. She is one of the classiest people I know, and she is my social behavior barometer for what is right and what is wrong. But one night, one glorious night, when I came back to visit my girls after moving to Colorado, Dana’s barometer slipped a little bit, and I’m so happy for her that she let it.

We were sitting in a bar in Iowa City and the clock was moving toward midnight when a waitress asked Dana if she would like to participate in a wet T-shirt contest. And the beautiful tipsy-barometered Dana said yes. I will leave the details out of this story, but just know that Dana not only embraced the wet T-shirt contest, she rocked that party. And that’s why I love her. One day, she is sitting with you talking about why you will get married and have 2.5 children and a drive a Volkswagen and why that’s the right thing to do and the next day she’s dancing like Beyoncé in a wet T-shirt contest. How could you not love this girl?

Beyond that, Dana is … just Dana. I can’t describe it. She makes you feel comfortable and secure and like no matter how tumultuous life might be at the moment it will all end up all right. She’s like a baby blanket for adults.

I love you, Money. See you, well, 21 hours!

P.S. Thanks in advance for the ride. And the weekend. And the friendship. XOXOX