Somebody's getting MAH-WEED! and somebody already got MAH-WEED!

I found out a few hours ago that my cousin Michael finally proposed to his lovely lady, Nicole. (My sister Jennie declared that by snagging Nicole, Michael totally outchicked himself. I love Michael and think he is wonderful, but yes, he did indeed outchick himself.) This news makes me very happy for several reasons.

1. Last summer, when my grandfather's health took a quick turn for the worse, Michael was working overseas and was unable to come to Cincinnati to be with the family. But, Nicole came as his proxy-- granted, she was hoping Michael would be able to join her, but still!-- and she was a wonderful addition to our family. She dove head-first into a ball of drama, and played like a champion.

2. The last time that side of the family had a wedding, it was for Michael's sister, Lauren-- and it was ridiculously fun. RIDICULOUSLY. I am still slightly hung over from it, and it was in June of 2007. So, that bodes well for Michael and Nicole's wedding.

3. Michael has had his fair share of obstacles; he deserves a brilliant wife who makes him sublimely happy. This is life-affirmingly awesome news.

CONGRATULATIONS! Nicole, I am excited to have you as a cousin!

In other news, a former housemate of mine, Danny, got married a few weeks ago. Danny was a great housemate, and I had the lovely privilege to meet the newly minted Mrs. Danny, and she is fantastic. From my limited Danny-and-Grace knowledge, all I can say is that they light each other up. Also, Danny is responsible for a favorite line of mine. He had caught wind of the news that another housemate had a crush on him. He and I chatted about this briefly, and I confirmed it [yeah, I'm a bit of a shitstarter. What?], and he just said, "I'll take the compliment and leave the rest." AWESOME. Also, Danny went with me to walk some dogs at the Kalamazoo ASPCA, and flexed some wicked Dog Whispering skills. Anyway, I hope I get to see Danny and Grace sometime soon, and get treated as the "first wheel". (That's another "ism" of theirs. When they go out with a third party, they are very conscious of being inclusive. Instead of being the proverbial fifth-or-third wheel, the guest is the first wheel. I think that's the correct phrase. For real: 100% kind people.)

CONGRATULATIONS, DANNY AND GRACE!

Lastly, I'm in the process of helping Katie provide some extra TLC to a patient that she met last week. I will elaborate on this tomorrow...in the meantime, I encourage anyone reading this [pretty sure it's just my mom and Young Lady Kristin] to keep Betty in mind. This is a woman with a tough row to hoe, and with very little to which she can look forward. Thoughts, prayers, whatever-- Betty can use all the help we can offer.