The Not-At-All Odd Couple

The two people (under 30) that I admire the most happen to be madly, deeply, sensibly, and understandbly in love with each other. I love them. I love their relationship. I love how they treat people both individually and together. I love seeing both of them happy. Whether they know it or not they are my examples and the people I look to for most of the big things, ideas, and concepts in my life. One of them I was destined/fated/doomed to know and love and the other I met because of the good judgement of the other and it just so happens I love him almost as much as I love her. Julie and Jimmy, this one is for you.

I figure I’ll start with why and how I like each of you separately and then go into why you both together has just a synergistical effect on the whole thing.

Julie is someone who has mystified me from birth. Quiet, either by choice or because of the pacifier in her mouth, you sat back and watched while I boradcasted my every feeling, thought, and worry to the rest of the world. I thought she was strange, mainly because I didn’t know how to relate to her. As we got older, I resented the fact that we shared a room and that you seemed to be so much more together and competent than I was- an awkward, insecure, impulsive geek. I tell pretty much everyone that I cannot really account for Julie’s presence between 1999 -2005. She was floating off in Julie-land -a place none of us were allowed. We never fought, but we both understood ( i hope) that we had to settle into our own orbits for a little bit.

Now that we are older, I still find myself rather in awe of Julie - who seems to have all the dedication and levelheadedness that I lack. I’m glad our relationship has progressed as it has, because I was not a very likable person up until very recently and I have always felt like I had to earn her respect. I envy and admire how much she thinks for herself and knows so clearly what she feels, thinks, and wants. She is able to filter through all the bullshit that comes her way and find the little nugget of relevance. Julie is much more kind and honest with people( including our parents) than I have the courage to be on a daily basis. Julie-land still exists and I’m proud to say I know a little more about it lately. She can keep a secret better than anyone else.We’re really not as bad of sisters as we make ourselves out to be and if I met Julie as someone other than my sister, she is really someone I would want to be my friend. Her dedication to her causes and what she thinks is right inspires me as I eke out my own little humanitarian path. People take Julie seriously, but she has some inspired moments of humor and goofiness that I like equally as much.

And Julie has brought me one of the best friends anyone could ever hope for. I remember the first time Jimmy and I acknowledged each other’s presence. We were in that weird front room of Lourdes waiting for rides. Jimmy pointed to me and looked away quickly, whispering something hurriedly to Jay. I was suspicious, but he was already in the beginning stages of things with Julie and didn’t want to make a bad impression on me with any after school shenanigans. Jimmy has been Julie’s boyfriend for almost 5 years and he is honestly one of the most intelligent, funny, talented,wise, and principled people I have ever met -he could make Nelson Mandela look like Pauly D. Something about Jimmy is literary - he is almost too much of a wonderful anomaly to have been created by accident. He seems to walk through life, which hasn’t always been kind to him, with the poise of a main character. I am convinced that Jimmy knows something we don’t- he sees things differently, expresses them differently, and just loves whatever he does with every inch of himself. I am on a constant quest to keep Jimmy’s respect - he did buy me my first light up, action noise lightsabers after all. I know that I can call Jimmy at anytime with any problem ( he fielded my call at 1am when I was stranded and lost at JFK) and he will advise me perfectly and effortlessly. Watching him embrace my family and vice versa has been beautiful to watch over the past few years.

Julie and Jimmy make each other happy. Their relationship is “old love” - there are no illusions, but they believe in themselves just as fiercely as they believe in everything else . Sometimes I think I avoided relationships for so long because I couldn’t hope to measure up to what they have. They have taught me what a functional relationship is and what mutual respect looks like. I want them to make each other happy for as long as they can and hopefully I get to be around for some of it. I hope you get to make each other tea and play funny songs on the guitar together for a long time. I am so supremely grateful for each of you and for what you have together. Don’t let the big world get you- everything you have and everything you are is worth fighting for.