They say History Repeats Itself.
They are correct!
Fall 2001 was very exciting. I was embarking on a life-changing experience… I was about to become a college kid at OU.
Sara, one of my best friends in the world, was one of my roommates, and we were about to meet our other roommate. We’ll call her “K” for the sake of privacy. Sara and I had no idea what to expect with K and we were anxious, excited, and nervous.
At first glance, we loved her! We had a number of things in common and we were ready to embark on a new journey together in close quarters.
K, the new roommate, took some adjusting. We were all pretty new to our roles, but we were doing our best to make it work. K was kind of messy, and left her clothes everywhere. She often stayed up way too late, and seemed to have a need for frequent male attention, often when she was staying up way too late. Talk about awkward! In addition, K must have been really thirsty because she drank a lot and left her bottles everywhere (usually Nati Lite, eww). And sometimes, when she did this, she wet the bed and she once even wet the futon (again, eww!). Sara and I were new with the roommate scenario and we didn’t always know how to handle K. Sometimes there were tears; sometimes there was frustration; and sometimes we learned lessons.
Despite all this, Sara and I managed to have a fun and memorable year. We survived the fall, the winter, and the spring quarters and walked away much smarter than when we arrived. But when it came to K, we decided we did not want to live with an attention-needing, heavy-drinking, bed-wetting, mess-making roommate, ever again!
Or so I thought…
Fall 2012 was very exciting. I was embarking on a life-changing experience… I was about to become a Mom.
Denny, one of my best friends in the world, was one of my roommates, and we were about to meet our other roommate aka our daughter. We call her Kenz. Denny and I had no idea what to expect with Kenz and we were anxious, excited, and nervous.
At first glance, we loved her!!! We had a number of things in common (mainly, Kenz was a combination of the two of us) and we were ready to embark on a new journey together in close quarters.
Kenz, the new roommate, took some adjusting. We were all pretty new to our roles, and we were doing our best. Kenz, like most babies, was kind of messy, and left her clothes, toys and bibs everywhere. She often woke up way too late at night, and seemed to have a need for attention from Denny (often when she was up in the middle of the night and I couldn’t figure out why she was crying). In addition, Kenz must have been really thirsty because she drank a lot and left her bottles everywhere (usually breast milk, eww). And sometimes, when she drank a lot, she wet the bed, and she once even wet the crib and the couch. Denny and I were new with the parent scenario and didn’t always know how to handle Kenz. Sometimes there were tears; sometimes there was frustration; and sometimes we learned lessons.
Despite all this, Denny and Kenz and I managed to have a an amazing year. We survived the fall and the winter, and we can’t wait for the spring. We’re much smarter than when Kenz arrived, and despite the fact that I claimed 11 years ago that I would never ever live with an attention-needing, heavy-drinking, bed-wetting, mess-making roommate, I changed my mind. In fact, not only have I changed my mind, but also I’ve fallen completely in love with this new little roommate.
So there you have it. It is possible that the worst roommate in one situation can have the exact same exact characteristics as the best roommate in another situation. Who knew?
And sometimes when you least expect it you uncover yet another connection of how your crazy days as an undergrad prepared you for the real world. In this case, college kind of prepared me to be a Mom.
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Loved this take on ‘roomies’ and how you’ve adjusted. Good job Erin & Denny.