brilliant

you know those guinness commercials with the animated irish guys that look like paper cut outs? i love those commercials. the one guy, a very agreeable chap, just keeps saying, almost shouting really, "brilliant!" to whatever his friend says. when i see one of those commercials, i suddenly feel european and i begin saying "brilliant" to everything and everyone around me, but my lame attempts at being cool are not brilliant. the commercials are not brilliant. funny, but not brilliant. and dark irish beer in a bottle is not brilliant either. not today, anyway.

today, everything else dims in comparison to the brilliance of my wife, who is celebrating 30 years of living today. as i have been reflecting on this big day for her and who she is as a human being, i keep coming back to the word brilliant.

for as long as i have known shannon she has been brilliant. she excels at everything she does, and, more than that, she just brings an indisputable kind of light to every conversation, every endeavor, and every situation in which she finds herself. she is bright from underneath, like there is a glow radiating from some unseen warmth within. there may be many people who appear to shine in such a way when you see them from time to time. but, take it from one who lives with her and sees her at her brightest and her darkest, shannon is brilliant.

happy birthday, baby. here's to the next 30...

greg.