Thanks Geoff, Thanks Chris

Last Fall, Geoff and I made reservations to see the DSO play the Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade. He got so tied up with rehearsals for his break-through recital, that he stood me up. I knew immediately who I wanted to call, but I called three other people first because I did not want to appear (even to myself) to be chasing her. Three people were just as busy as Geoff; Suzanne was not too busy. That was the first of many social events with my friend from church. Going places is so much more fun when you are not alone. With Suzanne, I was not alone. Over the months and months, I realized that my friend from church had become my close friend.

Sometime between the start of dating (that we never called dating) and falling in love, we were part of a care group within the church. We had a chance to grow together as members of the community of faith. As brother and sister in Christ, we prayed for each others joys and sorrows.

By the end of May, we hit a string of events, plays, concerts, dinner (home-cooked and not), that ran six weeks in a row. On the way to the last event (part of the Walk to Emmaus), I confessed that I had run out of events and that next week was up to her. That was June 23rd.

On July 16th, I had dinner planned with Chris. He got tied up with a theatre project, so I called Suzanne to see if she wanted dinner. I had the letter writtenbut was not sure when to use deliver the proposal. With Chris cancelling, I had a free night earlier in the week that planned. Evan then, I was not sure I would propose that Monday until I did. We are now happily, tearfully, on the road to "as long as you both shall live."

We have both prayed long and hard about this. We acknowledge our own pasts and embrace G-d's grace. We approach the altar with joy, fear, and trembling, most likely at the end of October in a small family service. We will celebrate with friends at a reception after the bustle of the holidays, during the doldrums of January or February. We covet all your prayers.