Love is undeniable, isn't forced, can't really be explained, a magical swirling entity that comes in heavy, fades in and out, shape-shifts, wanes, rises again like the phoenix from the ashes, fertilizes, expands, sustains. We met at Leti's twentieth birthday party, where Erin was invited as the date to our beloved friend Maria and POW BAM, cue rainbows, we found out that we really like one another. Our connection has taken many forms over the last quarter of a century, as a garden is want to do, and the good news is that the dirt is vibrant, rich and ready for more. So, we celebrate! Truly, we live with mysteries too marvelous to be understood. How grass can be nourishing in the mouths of the lambs. How rivers and stones are forever in allegiance with gravity while we ourselves dream of rising. How two hands touch and the bonds will never be broken. How people come, from delight or the scars of damage, to the comfort of a poem. Let me keep my distance, always, from those who think they have the answers. Let me keep company always with those who say "Look!" and laugh in astonishment, and bow their heads.” || Mary Oliver