Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Today I Love Tanisha

I moved into a condo with Tanisha back in '05 when my little sister decided to come finish her last two years of schooling with BYU and would not come without her kitty, Cyrus.  Tanisha's place was the only one that would let us have the kitty, so off we went.

To say we had a rocky start wouldn't be adequate.  I was still in BYU-bubble mode, although graduated, and my sis was enrolled.  Any non-BYU standard activities in the apartment at all could get lil sis kicked out of school.  And, let's face it, BYU standard is strict.  So I was...well...to avoid calling myself some pretty bad things, I'll just say I was an over-protective big sis.  I don't recall actually being cruel, but sometimes our regrets are more about the nice things we didn't do.  The interesting thing is that over-protective-big-sis mode kept me from fully supporting what I have always supported  - a person needs to pave their own path in life, as long as they are a good person.

And that's something Tanisha has always been - a good person.  She definitely helped me to learn how important it is to look to someone's heart.  In spite of all the petty things I may have said or done, didn't say or didn't do (don't you just want to kick your younger self sometimes?), she looked through all of that and forgave me.

Not only did she forgive me, she gave me the most priceless gift I have ever been given - little Conor.  That's right, she gave me my kitty.  You see, she'd adopted Conor from the pound.  She was originally told the little ball of fur was a boy, hence naming her "Conor" after her favorite singer, Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes.  When she took Conor to get neutered, she was surprised to find him already...without those parts.  I'm not sure when the little kitty decided to be a loving sweetheart to me and a bratty diva to Tanisha, but it happened.  I tried my darndest not to fall in love with the kitty, but she won me over.  When Tanisha moved out, she told my sister, "Larissa can have her if she wants her..."  I thought my heart would explode.  Someone I had not loved as fully as I should have was doing the most selfless thing ever for me.  I only hope that some day, in some way, I can repay the favor.  I will always look up to Tanisha because of her heart.  This may have been one of the most humbling experiences of my life.

Tanisha is now is an amazing mother and wife with her second little one on the way.  Her Facebook posts regularly crack me up.  I know a photo of us together exists, I just can't seem to find it...

Tanisha, I love you!
Cute little baby Conor as Tanisha's
The very evening Tanisha let me adopt Conor

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