I might have used this photo already but I don’t care. It brings me joy. What can be better than three old friends sharing a laugh?
Not a day goes by that I am not thankful for my life with Jim Cunningham. I wrote this little note to him a few nights back. I share it here as a tribute to him, but also as a reminder for me to tell the people who are dear to me how much I appreciate them. Thanks for indulging me.
March 1, 2023
Dear Jimmy,
I am thankful for being your partner. You made me into a different person than what I would have been and I am grateful for that. You showed me by your enthusiasm and example how a person could live in this world that was so different from what I had known before. Or what I could’ve imagined.
I could not have imagined you. I had to meet you and know you and understand how you operated. And that took years. Years. And I am so grateful for the lessons that you have given me about how to live a life that is bolder than what I would have done and at the same time more conscientious than what I would’ve been.
I have so many things to thank you for. Your honesty. Your honesty. Your ‘eight-year-old-boy’ understanding of what is right and what is wrong. Your open heartedness. Your unflinching love for everyone you’ve ever met. You only ever saw the good in people. Or let me rephrase that only hoped for the good in people.
You were good. So you expected that other people would be good also. Including me and so I was better.
I can only thank you for that. Thank you for making me better.
Thank you for showing me what real love looks like. Thank you for letting me love you.