This is A.

This is A. She is funny, beautiful and highly intelligent. She also is 18 years younger than me -- a fact she reminds me of in some form or another at least once every other day ("Let me get the door, what with your bones being brittle and all"). I'm okay with that reminder - the theory being that my vast experience honed over the years places me in a superior position. Yes, that would be the theory.

A. is one of my most favorite people in the world. I know she loves me, too. Sometimes, the way she shows love is akin to the way my brothers used to show they loved me by hanging me upside down by my feet, poking me in the ribs, and tickling me until I hurled. It's that same sweet, sweet family love that has forced many a good person to spend thousands of dollars for therapy and screwed up their sense of self worth for the rest of their lives. That's what A. and I share, along with a love of animals, a good intellectual fight, and gallons and gallons of coffee. It truly is awesome!