I’m one of those people who doesn’t like to say it too loudly, but privately, this optimist believes everything happens for a reason, as chintzy as that sounds. I have had enough things connect to each other in the ongoing narrative of my life, that I am compelled to believe this. Sometimes the stars simply align. And things are magic. And this was one of those weddings. He’s a chemical engineer, attempting to make well water safely potable in the third world. She’s a recently-graduated doctor. Their words: “He takes her on adventures, and she keeps him alive.”

Upon my arrival at this magical island off the coast of BC, I was overwhelmed—at how we felt like old friends and at how their community accepted me immediately as part of the family. Everything brimmed with natural charm, outrageous antics, and buoyant bliss. While she picked flowers from the cottage garden for her bridesmaids’ hair, he and his groomsmen had a monumental tradition involving bare behinds (not shown, to protect the innocent!). They were wed on a beach below a giant arbutus tree. A fawn crossed our path as we walked through the forest. We explored a sheep farm and were chased by a turkey, after which he climbed a fence post and then they danced their asses off.

They inspire me to love, to dream, to breathe deep, and to laugh, endlessly. They remind me that some things matter and some things don’t. Morning rains couldn’t dampen their joy. During the reception speeches, their maid-of-honor sang a lovely rendition of the rich-with-relevance song, “Simple Life,” by The Weepies. And a lyric from that is what I leave you on.

I’ll kiss you awake, and we’ll have time, to know our neighbors all by name and every star at night.
We’ll weave our days together like waves and particles of light, I want only this, I want to live, I want to live a simple life.