Kimmie's yard sale finds from the day before my visit -- arranged in front of the walnut drying shed on her farm Our searing summer of 2018 seems to be a debt that our soft, warm, generous Fall of this year is paying off. October has earned its place in recent memories as the loveliest. And, it was my good fortune to be reminded of the splendidness of this fall with two weekend days spending some time with long-time, special friends. Friends Amy and Doug had me, my mom, and Jeff to dinner Saturday evening. Amy and her brothers and parents were friends with my family when we were children. Her generous family lead to our enjoying the iconic Sugar Bowl ski resort with them in their family's cabin many years of our childhood, but, more; it instilled a history woven into our lives. Amy and Doug met while Amy lived at my last childhood home in Palo Alto, with my mom, shortly after my parents' divorce. She was living there when she first began dating Doug. They a
Nobody ever thinks the person they fall in love with is pretending. Nobody thinks that the person that is "their person" is lying. Imagine meeting somebody so deeply invested in lying about their most primal reality that they are unable to see the truth themselves, possibly. Imagine that person pursuing you; cultivating a romantic life with you; asking you to marry them. How could you tell? How would you know when that person that took many years convincing you to fall in love with them was telling a lie? Then imagine spending another 10 years with that person. Imagine investing in a life; in each other's families; and in businesses and dreams. When all of the trappings are set up to be exactly what they're supposed to be, and all of the interactions with family and friends seem to be what anybody would dream of; how would you know? And, as the years pass and the carefully constructed stories and facades stop supporting the weight of the mounting troubles; do you know