My girlfriend Iris got to pick her own middle name as a kid. Michelle. Iris Michelle is her given/chosen name.
That is so cool.

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She is as lowkey and understated as I am booming and exaggerated.
She has friends all over the planet, and is quite purposeful about keeping up with all of us.
Iris remembers everything, and, in a moment, she can retrieve a fun fact and a snapshot from any one of our memories together. We met when my oldest entered the same preschool as her girls. She is one of the main (only) reasons that there is photographic evidence of my girls' childhoods.
She's the kind of person to whom you give a job that you want done completely and quickly. And she takes care of it quietly.

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Iris also is the kind of person who is down to do and try anything. In that way, we are exactly the same.
Often our adventures include our families, but always always always they include food.
We've had a lot of Greek food together, a lot of Italian food, some ballpark food, and a lot of experimental food.
About 15 years ago, Iris and I worked our way through the newspaper's "20 Best Burgers" list. For lots of weeks in a row, we hit several burger shops every week. With my youngest in tow, we combed Cincinnati, into Kentucky and Indiana too, eating alllll the burgers and fries. We tracked every juicy-crispy-cheesy bite, scribbling notes all over napkins, menus, and receipts. In the end, we reported our deep thoughts back to the author of the original list.

Recently, Iris and I broke bread over a giant waffle and a goetta sandwich.
We solved all the problems of the world, and, of course, talked about the meals at her folks' assisted-living home, the Taiwanese food in Atlanta she wished she could access daily, and baklava. She's added a layer of red bean paste to her family's favorite baklava recipe. Just for fun. I cannot wait to try it.
Shortly after we left breakfast, she texted me a flurry of pics from 2008, when my oldest was a mail carrier and her youngest was an artist in the "People in Your Neighborhood" play.

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Iris's last name is Love. She picked that, too, when she chose her very wonderful husband.
Iris Michelle Love. Or just, "Love," as my daughter, our one-time burger buddy, calls her.
So cool.

People are THE BEST.
LoveLoveLove,

**Did you see that we have our own social-media homes now?
IG: @letmetellyouthisgoodnews​
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Follow along and invite your people; this kind of connection is the highest use of technology.