We took our place on the already-crowded sidewalk, a few hundred fans already in front of us, yet we were still considered to be in the front of the line. We were directly behind two bubbly, gabby blondes who were obviously best friends...and at a Celebration, everyone is friends. So, we started talking...and fell in love. Katie and Jenna were a blast to hang out with, and we felt like we'd all known each other forever. Jenna's bright personality quickly attracted those immediately around us, we set up our camp and quickly began calling ourselves 'The Village.' As the humid Florida night progressed on into morning, we laughed and laughed, creating lasting memories and permanent friendships, and had an amazing time, despite the fact that we were sitting on the sidewalk in the middle of the night.
We were among the fortunate who were able to get seats directly in Chapin Theater for the interview...and what an experience it was!! The interview between Jon and George was phenomenal, and the crowd fell apart when Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher came on stage. I LOST it when Carrie came onstage, started absolutely sobbing... I felt so silly, until I looked a few seats to my right and saw Jenna crying as well. After the interview let out, I remember hugging her in the theater lobby and we were both laughing at each other through our fangirl-tears. We ended up spending the rest of the weekend together, reveling in our new friendship, bonding over our love of R2-D2, and becoming somewhat of an attraction in the droid room when we were caught on camera smooching our favorite little astromech :). Saying goodbye at the end of Celebration was so hard, and we left each other with hugs and promises to see each other soon.
The news of Jenna's passing was hard, and this past weekend at Celebration VI was even harder. It just didn't seem right without Jenna. Her mother June was kind enough to send us memorial ribbons to wear in honor of her, as well as a Jenna-necklace, which I was honored to wear for the duration of the Celebration. I made many trips through the droid room, spoke with one of the builders who remembered me (and Jenna) right away.
Andrew and I have often spoke of building our own R2 unit, and this past weekend we finally decided this will become a reality. Only, instead of building a standard R2-D2, we have decided our droid will be R2-JE, as a tribute to the beautiful Jenna Erickson. This blog will serve as a progress journal as we embark on the building process, as well as a place to share our memories of Jenna.
Thank you for visiting, for reading my story about how we met, and I hope you will stick around as we bring R2-JE to life!
This story brought tears to my eyes. I'm so glad that you, your husband, and so many others were blessed with Jenna's friendship...although I'm sure Jenna would say that she was blessed. I often think of her and how close we were when we were young and can almost remember each day as it happened. She left a lasting impression wherever she went. This is such a beautiful and creative way to maintain all the memories she left for us to share with each other.
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