This letter is for two of the most important people in my life on their 40th wedding anniversary.

Dear Camille and Jim,

It’s not a coincidence that you were on the same flight to Mexico with Joan and Val, before you even met.  Its not a coincidence that they moved into the home across the street from you. It’s not a coincidence that you became lifelong friends.  It’s not a coincidence that we’ve continued to foster that bond even after they passed.

We would show up on your doorstep when we didn’t want to go to latchkey and you would let us watch soap operas.  We would eat ALL your mayonnaise pasta salad (ok, that was mostly Laura).  We would stare longingly across the street from our driveway on hot summer days until you called to invite us to swim in your pool.  We spent hours at your dining room table, eating, drinking, laughing, crying.  You held Mom’s hand the day she lost her father.  You held my hand the day I lost mine.  You were there to see me walk down the aisle.  You helped me plan the wedding because I needed a mom then.  You sat in our dining room countless times, eating, drinking, laughing, crying.  You came every day for a year to water Dad’s plants after he died, so there would be some element of life continuing in that lonely house.  You made me laugh so hard I peed my pants…and you peed yours.  Oops, TMI?  You scolded me when I needed to hear it.  You always told the truth, even when it was hard to say. You called me every day to make sure I knew how Dad was doing.  You continue to open your home to me any time I call.  You are my baby’s “Grandma and Grandpa” Johnson.

You are Laura’s and my adopted mom and dad.  We would be lost without you.

We wish you many more years of love and laughter.