Feliz Anniversario Da

Mariko beat me to the first post but I figured I had to post independently. I was even wondering if I could find a way to make Mariko's post become a comment in my post but I'm not that blogliterate yet. Plus I wouldn't want to risk any ire. In commemoration of Damaris' 25th birthday I will share a story about the first time I thought I might marry Damaris. I remember riding down in the car with a friend Mary to eat at a Brazilian dinner Damaris was cooking in Amherst. I thought I hadn't really been invited but Mary convinced me that I was and I don't usually pass up free Brazilian food. We were talking about qualifications for future partners. I was turning the discussion into typical rant about consumer society, my future sustainable home, international living, and all my other crazy ideas. Mary was trying to gently inform me that girls like to have nice things (matching furniture, new clothes), and live in non-scary places (the US). But she as nice and wished me luck in finding a girl to accompany me on my wild adventures. My lack of serious compatibility in earlier interests made me suspect she might have a point. As luck would have it, I didn't have to wait long. The next day (Damaris had convinced me to forgo my ride home and stay the weekend) I was having a similar conversation with Damaris and was getting way more positive feedback. That afternoon I realized that there was some serious potential although it took a little bit longer before I way hooked. But some central elements were begun on that first weekend, good cooking, amazing conversations, and uncanny agreement about all of the most important things in life. The more we talked, danced, cooked, skated, hiked, and generally hung out the more I realized that I had found the perfect person for me. Five years later I'm more convinced than ever that Damaris is an amazing, wonderful, beautiful, and basically perfect. I'm super stoked she was born 25 years ago.