puzzles and shirley temples.

I have so much fun just sitting next to Max, not even having to say a word. This past weekend I had to work relentlessly on a small family project, so Max sat next to me content (for most of the time) watching conference, and trying (read: failing) to teach himself how to braid my hair.

A few weekends ago we drank shirley temples and I tried guacamole for the first time. We held hands as we walked through the grocery store, picking out a Reese's Peanut Butter Egg, a Snickers Egg, a Butterfinger egg, and a plastic orange egg filled with Sour Patch Kids. We held hands on the drive home and talked about what we'd do tomorrow.

We sometimes just sit at McDonalds, swinging our feet underneath the stools. He knows what to order me without asking, and he laughs when my eyes water after I take my first drink of a diet coke. Afterward, we'll work on our (never-ending) puzzle. I don't like that part of the night as much, but I think Max does.

Life with Max amidst school and work sometimes can be really simple, but it's the most special thing I've had (in so many ways) the last 22 years of my life. When we hold hands on long drives, and I answer his questions about what I would do if zombies took over the world (for the tenth time), and he watches Titanic with me (for the tenth time), deep down I always catch myself thinking: I am in love with the best of friend I've ever had. And I wouldn't trade that for anything else, not even if it meant I'd never have to work on a puzzle ever again.