Forty

Reasons I love you
Because
when we
first met
you drove
a badass
Mustang
You’re
Silly
You have Big Attitude




                        And a COOL STYLE
You
Appreciate
the Finer
Things in
Life
To you, it was
a no-brainer
to opt for a
deck
hammock
over a cabin
on a local
ferry on the
Amazon
Cord’s first
concert was,
of course,
Roger
Waters’ The
Wall
You have no
problem
getting under
an old Land
Rover to
check the oil
leak, during
a road trip
through
Tanzania
You Drive
       A
   Hard
 Bargain
 (for roadside
Maasai blankets)
You love
  the
 dawn
You love
   the
Lowcountry
You look
great in a
Maasai
blanket on a
deserted
stretch of
beach on an
Atlantic
barrier
island.
You love
taking self
 portraits,
sometimes
 with us in
  them.
You love
taking self-
portraits in
bad ass
locations,
like the
Panamanian
rain forest
You love
taking self-
portraits with
imprinted
juvenile
Barred owls,
who thinks
you’ re its
mother.
People felt
comfortable
partying in
your
bedroom
during the
annual
Halloween
bash at The
Camp
People felt
comfortable
partying
their asses
off at The
Camp at
Christmas
time too.
Really,
anytime,
because you
made that
place a home
for all of us.
We make
great
friends
together
People Miss You When You Aren’t Around
You don’t mind
getting geeky
with your friends
at an animated
movie about
guardian owls
You don’t
mind getting
geeky with
your friends
in the middle
of the rain
forest, by
acting like
leaf cutter
ants
You ain’t
afraid of
snakes at
all! And you
don’t hurt them
You care
for all sorts
of animals
But
particularly,
Raptors.

You Treat
Them
And
Release
Them
And have
helped
conserve
the most
majestic of
them
You’ve
cared for
hearty,
funny, baby
vultures
And difficult,
vulnerable
killdeer
chicks
You take
care of your
best friend
And she
takes care
of you
Cristo
Redentor
thinks
you’re a
great sister
And a
Great
Daughter
You make
me look
much
better than
I really am
You take
lots of cool
pictures of
me
Did I
mention you
make me
look good,
even when I
have
ridiculous
facial hair.
You keep
searching
for serenity
You keep
   me
grounded
You were the best mother
a little girl could ever want
Let me
repeat: You
were the best
mother
a little girl
could ever
want
You’re the
mother of
   our
wonderful
boy, Cord
 Everlee
Without you
we wouldn’t
be a family,
the greatest of
the forty
reasons I love
you.

Forty