Erin O'Brien

Erin O'Brien, my anchor, she keeps me grounded to the past, present and future because she understands where I am coming from, who I am, and supports where I am going; not because she agrees with everything, but because she is loyal.

I met Erin when we were both LDS missionaries in Upstate New York. I was being transferred to a new area unexpectedly and three "Sisters" (that is what women missionaries are called) came to pick me up at a meeting place including my "companion" (the woman I would be living and proselyting  with) and two other "sisters" from a nearby area. We all, of course, were exchanging our obligatory inquisitions: What is your name?, How long have you been a missionary?, Where are you from?, etc. When I said I was from Rexburg, Idaho, Erin perked up and began to play the "Do you know?" game because she lived in Rexburg for a few years as a middle school-er. I always find it interesting that you can know similar people and live in a small town like Rexburg, but never cross paths with someone... until you do 2000 miles away. I believe this was not just happenstance; I believe we needed others' fingerprints to recognize the likeness in each other; I believe we needed to meet under those particular circumstances because of a spiritual connection we share. We found that we knew some of the same people and immediately I felt endeared to her easy going nature, and I thought she had to be the most naturally beautiful person I had ever seen. I did not have the good fortune to have Erin as my "companion," but we became fast friends and continued to cultivate our friendship after we came from our missions and resided in Rexburg. As I am writing this a quote by C.S. Lewis keeps coming to mind, “In friendship...we think we have chosen our peers. In reality a few years' difference in the dates of our births, a few more miles between certain houses, the choice of one university instead of another...the accident of a topic being raised or not raised at a first meeting--any of these chances might have kept us apart. But, for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking no chances. A secret master of ceremonies has been at work. Christ, who said to the disciples, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you," can truly say to every group of Christian friends, "Ye have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another." The friendship is not a reward for our discriminating and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by which God reveals to each of us the beauties of others.” 

Going along with that, there are three women in my life that there is, I swear, a magnetic field and somehow we keep ending up living in the same city; Erin is one of them. To boot... she is one of those friends, that some of you have talked about, that no matter how much time has gone by you can just pick up where you left off. When she moved to Boise after having spent several years out of contact, I felt like "Hey there, old friend." We did not miss a beat. We fell back into our easy stride of solving the worlds problems, philosophizing about religion, and trying to make light of the world around us. Erin is sarcastic, quick witted, and funny. So... even though our conversations are sometimes heavy and deep, Erin has a way of never letting you leave feeling the weight of the world on your shoulders. I always leave her presence feeling like I have had the most delightful time. Not only is she funny, but she is also kind and generous. She would randomly bring me my favorite chocolate from Sees candy to the salon just because she was going to be around. I felt loved and cared for. She has a knack for that! I'm sure that is one reason why she has such awesome children.
  

I think Erin would say that she is attracted to creative souls. I think, though, that creativity and originality come from people simply being truthful and authentic. Erin's ability to make those around her feel completely comfortable and allowing them to be their authentic selves actually facilitates creative souls without even realizing it. She has allowed me to fail without judgment and always gives me hope to try again. If you know Erin I am sure you have experienced her loyalty and her 100% advocacy of whatever creative project you may be working on.

Erin, there are so many ways in which you have left fingerprints on my soul. Thank you for understanding me, facilitating my creativity and allowing me to be my past, present, and future self. There have been times in my life that only you have been able to say or do the right thing to buoy me up and give me hope that I have something to offer this big bad world.