Every great story starts out with a great opening line. It has too. It’s a lot of pressure. So…..here we go:

“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” No. Wait. That’s no good. What does that even mean? Ok….

“Call me Ishmael” Wait. I don’t even know an Ishmael…..frankly, it sounds made up.

“We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold.” Well, a helluva beginning, but not applicable here….plus I forgot my golf shoes.

Ok. This time I’ve got it. 100% original.

It was a perfect October day in 2013, a slight nip in the air. Sun shining. Birds Singing. You know the drill. We may have walked along as strangers, but we were not strangers at the same time. Something was happening here…..

As we walked and talked about things big and small; dodging numerous piles of…mmmm let’s say “Goose Mess”, a feeling started to grow that we might be the person the other had been looking for. We strolled around the picturesque lake of beautiful Carondelet Park until it got too dark to continue. This was the first evening of many that we would spend together. 4,168 days that have been full of ups and downs. Highs and lows. Lefts and rights. It’s not all been easy, but it’s all been amazing and we have never regretted a second of it. We have had days full of adventures and others full of lazy comfort at home. We have watched a cool young girl grow into a strong young adult. We got too many cats. We didn’t go to enough concerts. We loved and we have lost, but through it all we have been a pair. Like a pair of shoes, one does not work without the other. We could not be more grateful that two odd balls met each other in this wild and crazy world. Even if we had to dodge plenty of Goose Mess along the way.

We are so happy to be able to share the day with some of the people that mean the most to us in the world. It would not be the same without all of you that are here with us today, the ones that could not make it today, and the ones that we have lost along the way.

Love,

Mathilda & Jeff