(Jessica in the smaller glasses, and Deter flashing the peace sign. This picture makes me laugh. Hard.)The counter says 31 days until the wedding. I have three bridesmaids to introduce. Let’s get to it, shall we?
Kristen Deterding is our next bridesmaid. Her mom calls her Kristen, her friends call her Deter, or Ditzy Deter, and sometimes Jessica would call her DeeDee (which is also our dog’s name). But Deter doesn’t care what you call her, she’s just that laid-back.
She was one of Jessica’s best friends, and like another daughter to me. They both were beautiful, tan, blonde, scatterbrained, and ditzy. They liked the same music, movies, TV and people.
The funny thing about Jessica and Deter’s friendship is that they didn’t like each other for a long time. They first met as freshman at the high school, and although they had a few mutual friends, they just never hit it off.
In the meantime, Deter’s younger sister, Kaitlyn, and our Kelli became best friends. Being best friends required attending dances, basketball games and other social events. Jessica would usually be sweet enough to drop off Kelli, and Deter would do the same with Kaitlyn. They’d see each other, but still really never talked.
Finally, Kelli and Kaitlyn said to them, “why don’t you guys like each other?” When neither one could come up with a good answer, they started hanging out more, and within a few weeks they were inseparable.
Deter spent many nights at our house, and one instance in particular stands out in my memory. It was shortly before Jessica died. Jessica, Deter and their friend LeAnn had gone out on a Friday night. As they all had to work early Saturday morning, I half-expected them to be home at a decent hour but as they were young and energetic, they decided to push it as long as they could.
When they arrived home, they tried (unsuccessfully) to go upstairs to Jessica’s room in a quiet calm manner. There was giggling and shushing and loud whispers of “Quiet! My mom is sleeping!” Yeah, not so much anymore. When they finally arrived in her room (which was directly above my bedroom), I swore there were 12 people up there, there was that much thumping and talking.
The next morning I heard them start thumping around again, so I got up and made my special breakfast for Jessica. She loved biscuits and gravy, so I tried to make them for her on the weekends. As the girls trudged downstairs, they smelled the sausage, and started to perk up. Jessica hugged me and said “aw thanks Mom,” and Deter said, “Kim, I love you. You are the coolest mom.”
Deter has been a great source of comfort to me, whether she realizes it or not. I love hearing stories and seeing pictures that she has of Jessica and Kelli, and she keeps me up to date on what’s going on with Jessica’s other friends. I keep up with some of them still, but I’m closest with Deter.
She’s a sweetie, and I love her, and I’m so honored that she’s standing up with me.
Kristen Deterding is our next bridesmaid. Her mom calls her Kristen, her friends call her Deter, or Ditzy Deter, and sometimes Jessica would call her DeeDee (which is also our dog’s name). But Deter doesn’t care what you call her, she’s just that laid-back.
She was one of Jessica’s best friends, and like another daughter to me. They both were beautiful, tan, blonde, scatterbrained, and ditzy. They liked the same music, movies, TV and people.
The funny thing about Jessica and Deter’s friendship is that they didn’t like each other for a long time. They first met as freshman at the high school, and although they had a few mutual friends, they just never hit it off.
In the meantime, Deter’s younger sister, Kaitlyn, and our Kelli became best friends. Being best friends required attending dances, basketball games and other social events. Jessica would usually be sweet enough to drop off Kelli, and Deter would do the same with Kaitlyn. They’d see each other, but still really never talked.
Finally, Kelli and Kaitlyn said to them, “why don’t you guys like each other?” When neither one could come up with a good answer, they started hanging out more, and within a few weeks they were inseparable.
Deter spent many nights at our house, and one instance in particular stands out in my memory. It was shortly before Jessica died. Jessica, Deter and their friend LeAnn had gone out on a Friday night. As they all had to work early Saturday morning, I half-expected them to be home at a decent hour but as they were young and energetic, they decided to push it as long as they could.
When they arrived home, they tried (unsuccessfully) to go upstairs to Jessica’s room in a quiet calm manner. There was giggling and shushing and loud whispers of “Quiet! My mom is sleeping!” Yeah, not so much anymore. When they finally arrived in her room (which was directly above my bedroom), I swore there were 12 people up there, there was that much thumping and talking.
The next morning I heard them start thumping around again, so I got up and made my special breakfast for Jessica. She loved biscuits and gravy, so I tried to make them for her on the weekends. As the girls trudged downstairs, they smelled the sausage, and started to perk up. Jessica hugged me and said “aw thanks Mom,” and Deter said, “Kim, I love you. You are the coolest mom.”
Deter has been a great source of comfort to me, whether she realizes it or not. I love hearing stories and seeing pictures that she has of Jessica and Kelli, and she keeps me up to date on what’s going on with Jessica’s other friends. I keep up with some of them still, but I’m closest with Deter.
She’s a sweetie, and I love her, and I’m so honored that she’s standing up with me.
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