A Birthday Card in My Love Language
We all show it in different ways
As a rule, I avoid posting publicly about living people - but today I want to tell you about someone special: my best friend, my General, my Favorite.
This is Kate, the year we met:
The girl I met was a force of nature - still is. She had Ideas and a Plan, and a fierce independent streak. Her drive and dynamic attitude have complemented my stolid and methodical approach to life. She shows her love for those around her through acts of service - making food, leading crafts, organizing events; I show my love through close examination and writing. My way is not often as visible as hers, so today is my chance to put her on display.
We met at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, and even though we were in star-crossed languages (she was an Arabic student, while I was studying Korean), we became fast friends. I quickly realized that this was not someone I could afford to say goodbye to at the end of our respective 63-week training tours, and I am amazed to this day that she agreed with me.
After only six weeks, I proposed to her. I almost blew it - when I said, “Hey, we need to talk…” she thought I was breaking up with her. (Proof that I need an editor.) But I fumbled my way through explaining what I was trying to say, and we started making plans.
Many of our stories are captured in my book, Tad’s Happy Funtime. The life expectancy for a marriage like ours was not great - the infamous “DLI wedding” usually precedes the “Goodfellow divorce” after language school students move on. But here we are, 29 years later, and she is still my favorite.
Here’s to the next 29!
And a little flashback - from when Ben Folds read her request on his MySpace livestream:
I love happy endings. Thanks for sharing.
Oh, that's so sweet. Happy birthday, Kate.