Chris and Meghan met at a brewery in Cincinnati, Ohio. It started with the offer to buy a beer and turned into a three hour conversation culminating with the exchange of telephone numbers and the presumption that a first date would be happening very soon. It didn't take long after Meghan got home for her to call her mother and exclaim that she met someone that she actually wanted to go on a date with. Chris spent his entire 13 minute drive home on the phone with his mother, breathlessly talking about the wonderful person he just met.

For those of you that have watched Frank Capra’s film, It’s a Wonderful Life, you know that the best part of the movie occurs when George Bailey awakens from his nightmare after wishing he had never been born, to suddenly realize that, well, it’s truly a wonderful life. He runs around Bedford Falls, exclaiming hello to every resident, shouting “Merry Christmas” to the old Savings and Loan, only to run home and hug his family with a new appreciation for the mundane, ordinary, day-to-day happenings. Being with Chris is like having that realization every single day. Every day looks a little similar – wake up, get ready for work, pack our lunches, go to work, come home, make dinner and then prepare to do it all again the next day. Most people would consider this to be the repetitive and the mundane, but these days are my favorite because I get to spend them with Chris. He makes every day special, not because each day is full of surprises, but because each day I spend with Chris, he makes me thankful for my life and our life together - our tiny apartment, making dinner every night, listening to our favorite records, taking walks to listen to the birds, tending to our garden, going to the grocery store, discussing the news – I could go on and on. Before I met Chris, I never really wanted to get married. I liked my life on my own, but when I met Chris, I felt like George Bailey shouting through Bedford Falls, and I still feel that way. Having Chris in my life helps me appreciate the simple parts of life, the time that we too often overlook. The ordinary time, the time between the weddings, holidays and birthdays, are the parts that are really worth being thankful for and spending my life with Chris helps me see the infinite value in the ordinary every day.

When I was a kid, my family owned a black cat. What I mean by that is that I’m not a superstitious person - I don’t throw salt over my shoulder. I’ll walk under ladders when I see them and don’t balk at a broken mirror. But for some reason a few years ago, I started noticing I would look at the clock right at 11:11. And every time I did, I figured I might as well make a wish. I’ve never told Meghan any of this, by the way. But what I started to wish for was a person that I shared everything with. And someone who would love to do the same things I do. Basically, I was looking for a best friend. I mean no offense to my best friends that I already had; I just knew I wouldn’t live with them for the rest of my life. About three months after I started this completely uncharacteristic habit, I met Meghan. And for the first time in my life, I thought having a superstition wasn’t only a myth. My wishes had come true - Meghan is everything I would hope for in a best friend and wife, plus so much more. She takes interest in the things that I love: we cook together, we love exploring new places, we call out every dog we see. And those are all things that make me like Meghan more than any person I’ve ever met. But it’s the things I never expected that make me love her more every day. She challenges me, and she makes me a better person. She accepts my faults, and helps me conquer them. She sees the good in everything, big and small, and translates that into a passion and career that helps people every day. She inspires me. I had never thought about the fact that the person I marry would inspire me, but that’s exactly what she does. I can’t wait to grow with her, to grow old with her, and to see the many adventures that we will take together. So maybe I am superstitious, or maybe I’m just really lucky. Either way, I am grateful for the life we have, and the future we get to make.