Because what world isn’t better when you have a rooster in glittery drag smiling back upon you? The Lovelies sent me Miss Chicken!
1998: Slightly uncertain teenagers, Auntie Beeca and I meet as roomates. Maureen co-opts our room as the honorary third roommate (tutoring calculus). Ivy lives next door. Our little Hawaiian, Julia, rounds out our 11th floor penthouse dorm. Beeca’s mom (Mom2) dubs us “The Lovelies.”
2003: A beautiful bouquet of flowers arrives at my office. And a small shipping box – containing Miss Chicken, a sparkling bedazzled drag rooster in fabulous purple leopard print heels.
What the hell is this thing?
I have no idea who came up with the brilliant idea to have fowl with flare join the Lovely ranks.
She serves her purpose perfectly. She makes us smile. Because how can you not laugh at that. And through the years, the lovely Miss Chicken has made her rounds to support the Lovely ladies through the good times and the bad – relationships, careers, endurance events – whenever we may need a reminder of the friends standing behind us.
Jon arrived home one evening, “What the hell is that thing on the bed?” It’s only fair she receives a warm welcome and a place of honor during her stay.
Over the past decade, the perky poultry has traveled the country. And in the past few years, she’s taken to looking over the next generation. She went to live with Auntie Beeca when the first Lovely niece was announced. She surprised me in my suitcase after a miscarriage.
Maureen recently announced she’s having twins! DOUBLE TROUBLE IS TAKING OVER Y’ALL! She’s having identical girls. (Destroy, aka Casanova, is *thrilled* – remember boys, only date girls whose daddy’s have less guns than yours.)
This stupendous announcement was followed by a bit of a scramble as the rest of us desperately struggled to figure out WHO HAS THE CHICKEN?! (Turns out – Mo already had it. This totally still counts.)
The day I returned from Grandma Winnie’s funeral, curled into the fetal position with the flu, the mailman brought me a package.
THE LOVELIES SENT ME THE CHICKEN!
Jon eyed the creature. “Lovely.”
Weee! Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Chicken) or Sisterhood of the Lovelies’ Miss Chicken. Is a movie in store for the future?
Oh – I just love that tradition – and I’m glad you now know where she is!
Love it! Whoever started that is a genius!
I believe it started as a result of sending Becca a fantastically huge stuffed PINK dog for her birthday from all of us, that she decided was too big for its own good and returned it for something more manageable. I think that planted the seed that we needed something that could be passed around as a “Thinking of you!” gift. Ahh, memories. 🙂
Whenever someone would come in the house and catch Miss Chicken on the mantle or in the chair they didn’t quite understand why an adult had a stuffed animal in the living room. A chicken in heels no less. It’s always fun to explain the story. Some people send cards but what else would a group of awesome ladies send to each other but a diva chicken.
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