A Salutation on the Occasion of Earth Day...

To that great eminent theologian;

To that dutiful daughter of the exalted Lacey matriarch;

To that more recent, yet immediately faithful, member in the household sometimes called "Duncan" or "Spurs";

To the one who owns a Robert Horry jersey;

To the one who speaks intelligibly on matters pertaining to the National Basketball Association;

To that more recent, yet immediately faithful, member in churches of Christ;

To the one unbounded by the expectations of men or bigwigs;

To that devourer of novels, said to be able to read an entire book in a single sitting;

To the one unintimidated and unimpressed by all things Theology;

To the one slow to speech and quick to service;

To the one always giving priority to children before adults, the poor before the rich, the hungry before the fed, the ignored before the popular;

To the one always giving priority to laughter before solemnity, work before docility, play before business, simplicity before complexity;

To that fierce model of hesed to her family, immediate and extended;

To that lover of the 80s, of Goodnight, Moon and East of Eden, of The Wire and Gilmore Girls, of Sufjan Stevens and Fleetwood Mac, of Mexican food and guacamole, of Bob Schneider and Austin, Texas;

To that liberal to the end;

To that social worker disciple of the one she calls the First Social Worker;

To that beautiful, goofy, fierce, gentle, sharp woman who, happily for me and happily for our families and happily for our future children, deigned, after a long and arduous period of profound persuasion, to become my wife;

Happy Birthday!