toast to steve and adrienne

how brave it is of you,
steve and adrienne, to stand here before us today and state openly
and boldly
and proudly
that you belong together

how brave it is of you to make that statement
after all you have been through together,
because of all you have been through together.

because you have known each other already
through so many ups and downs,
pain and heartbreak,
joy and sorrow.

because you have come to know each other and yourselves through years
made up of moments, minutes, hours, and days of certainty,
because you have come to know each other and yourselves through years
made up of moments of doubt

because those times of doubt that seemed so long and so confusing were the most necessary test of your relationship
those times of doubt were the millions of small assignments that you gave yourselves
because you wanted to be as sure as possible
that you belong together

you took so many steps forwards and backwards,
so many slides to the side
so many twists and turns

and now you have reached this point
together
here
today
in front of all of us

and you are brave enough to know in your hearts that nothing is ever 100%
you are brave enough to know we never get that luxury. . .
you are brave enough to know that 100% isn't really perfection

instead, you are brave enough to know that 99.99999% is the true perfection
you are brave enough together to know that last .000001%
that last tiny little infinitesimal sliver
that the world always leaves out of perfection
that is what is left for both of you to work on together
for the rest of your lives

that is why we are here
with our promises of love and support
and our own individual and unique
missing tiny little infinitesimal slivers of perfection
we are here to let you know you are never alone in your work

steve and adrienne
you are brave enough to know
that you know each other better than anyone else in the world knows you
that you know you belong together

that is brave
that is perfect
that is you, steve and adrienne costello
on this day
and for the rest of your lives

all the happiness in the world


(written with melissa)