Congratulations to Stephanie and Apollo!

Stephanie, my best friend got married this past weekend. As her maid of honor, this was my toast to her:

Can you believe it? I have known stephanie for over 20 years. And we have spent the last 20 years ever present within each other’s lives. We wouldn’t have several hundred miles, career goals, babies, relationships, experiences with death, or anything else get between our iron-clad friendship.

Stephanie,as most of you realize, is one of the most dependable and reliable people we will ever have the honor of knowing. When we were kids, my parents used to go out of town and entrust Stephanie with the care of their home...even if I decided to stay behind!

There is this person, you guys probably know of her - she happens to be somewhat of a superhero. She’s the most ambitious, strong, and steadfast of any woman I have heard of. She has the ability to see the truth behind the drama of life, the perseverance of someone within a 1820’s wagon train, and the ability to shoulder two Homer buckets full of fryer oil down a flight of attic stairs at Topher’s Restaurant. That super hero, my super hero is Stephanie.

When my daughter Salem was born, Stephanie came to my aid straight away, no questions asked, and wouldn’t accept no for an answer. She stayed with us for weeks, she put the rest of the baby gear together, mowed the lawn, bought groceries, helped me learn how to be a new mother and basically gave me the confidence that I could it - that I could be a mom! She even helped me negotiate a wardrobe on account of the new enormity of my anatomy, giving me that “only a best friend can help” pep talk all the way to the changing room. Needless to say, I owe her - big time.

Getting back to the super hero bit - Stephanie has done more with her life than most people twice her age. She’s put herself though school, a master’s program, held several hard jobs, bought and sold a myriad of vehicles, set her face on fire starting a grill, (I’ll let her tell that story) traveled a huge amount of the world, taught children how to be good people, bought homes, grew gardens, built a deck, got promoted several times over, and has met and fallen for the love of her life, Apollo.

Just when i finally get the spelling down correctly of her last name, Cotsifas...(I know it’s been 20 years and all) she has to go and get married. Even though they are the Greekiest set of Greeks I’ve ever met, at least for my sake, she’s marrying into a family who’s name doesn’t require a lesson in phonetics.

There is no speech I can give, or any comments I can make that can do any justice for what kind of friend, support, and inspiration Stephanie is to me. The only person that knows that as much or more than I do, is Apollo. Today Apollo, you marry my best friend and sister. Together you will spend your lives loving each other, and I can only hope to spend the rest of MY life being the best friend to her as she HAS been and IS to me.