Weberlife

Tom and Les were also formally named Grayson's Godparents--Below is what I wrote and read to them.  

Tom and Les,

There is just no great place to begin--you are our best and closest friends, also family, you never let us down and always, always are there to remind us to have a good time.  We have been through a lot so far, the best of times and also the worst so far, have included you guys.
We always wonder how it is that we got so lucky to have people like you in our lives, you are both such a gift to us.  Grayson is lucky to have such a dynamic duo to call his godparents.

If it isn’t obvious why we chose you for this task, well, let’s just say Doug and I barely discussed it.  It goes without saying: you are the absolute closet thing there would be to
us raising Grayson if we were unable for any reason.  However, there are at more than a  amazing things about you guys, that are unique, that we hope he sees and emulates.

Let’s start with  your humor.  You two, on your own, both have such great comedic senses about you.  If I need to laugh, I head to the Reese’s.  Together, you make quiet the act. You have such a special connection through laughter and it is so amazing to see(and additionally very very entertaining)  Additionally, we knew we could count on you guys to not take the “god” in god parents very seriously.  We do, however, expect Grayson to be fully prepared to debate the distinct difference between  PBR and Heinekin, learn that golfing while drinking either will undoubtly improve your game(or at least your impression of it) and how to enjoy the comedy in everyday life.  You two are masters of that.

Next, your ability to get more done in one day than any two people I have ever met.  Your house alone is a testament to just what a great team can do when tasked with something that seems almost impossible.  Others see a beautiful home with great style and craftsmanship.  I see that and an incredible love letter that you two have written to one another in all of the walls painted, all of the carefully chosen details, and the spaces you have made your own.  Grayson, and with a little more time, his cousins, will have so many adventures in that house that you have created so lovingly and carefully.  

Also, you are careful with your words, both of you.  This is a lesson I am still learning, but as I have watched you two navigate the waters of some of the cruelest things that any person or couple should have to endure, you have done so with Grace, and an openness that you should know is very, very rare.  A particular example is when I was with you two after Les had a very rough surgery.  Tom had some devastating news and I will never, ever forget the way he knew just what to say and when to say it.  He delivered the news in it’s time, and in the only way she could have heard it.  It took my breath away.  Additionally, it is never, ever hard to tell how important Tom is to Leslie.  He is her top priority, her best friend, her partner in crime and her first choice in companion for all things.  We can only hope that Grayson will someday find a match so well suited for him.

Last, you are both very slow to judge and always learning and evolving.  This may be one of your greatest attributes.  In Leslie’s classroom she thinks through each square inch of it.  Additionally every party she throws(and she has thrown quite a few this year) she has every detail mapped out, and every detail accounted for.  Somehow she manages to remember everything and also everyone.  This is a rare gift.  In Tom’s love for all things outdoors he is meticulous and refined. Never taking or buying anything extraneous, but when he does it is the right tool for the job.  It is traits like this that kids pick up without thinking.  

In the end we know you will be there for Grayson, you already have been there or heard about his birth, our first weeks together, every sleepless night, every health concern real or imagined, and have been there for us and him as a constant force of love and support.  We will forever be grateful for our friendship and now, we are grateful that you have accepted the formal title to what you already are.  Grayson may be the luckiest little boy alive to have you two in his life.  

Thank you doesn’t quite cover it but will have to suffice,

Doug Mickelle and Grayson