love thursday: mark

I met Mark almost 13 years ago -- it was about 6 weeks after his college graduation, and it was days after my 30th birthday; milestone times for us both.  Mark and I are nothing alike (and almost a decade apart in age), and yet, for completely illogical reasons, we became inseparable friends -- the kinds of friends where, if one of us turned up to a party without the other, people worried.  We've been through a lot, Mark and me: we've consoled each other through various heartbreaks, we've cheered each other on through career moves, and in an act above and beyond the call of friendship, Mark was the one who rushed to my aid after a freak incident 10 years ago involving a crazed, drug-addled homeless person wielding a very large stick; Mark was the one who held my hand that night in the emergency room, as a doctor sewed up a gaping hole on my forehead and I dealt with what would eventually turn out to be two black eyes and a fractured skull.  Mark was the one who made sure that I didn't slip into a coma when we left the hospital, and that I didn't completely freak out in the months afterwards.

He is, in short, one of the most important people in my life.  And 6 years ago, when Alex was born, we made Mark officially family:  Marcus and I named him Alex's godfather.

These days, Mark and I don't get to see each other very often -- he lives in London now -- but this week he passed through Houston on his way to Santa Fe, New Mexico to get married to the very lovely Morgan, his girlfriend of the past 3 years.  As we caught up on life, it was so great to listen to how he talked about Morgan: as much as there was love, there was also admiration for her.  He views her as his partner in every way.

And the best part?  It's wonderful to see my dear friend so happy.

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Happy Love Thursday, all.  Please leave the links to your words, images and stories of love in the comments below.  And by the way:  tomorrow Marcus, Alex and I follow Mark to Santa Fe, to witness his marriage to Morgan over the weekend (and Alex gets to reprise her role as a flower girl).  So you'll be able see what we're up to real-time over here, but otherwise, I'll save all the fresh news for when we return.

Song:  Stickshifts and safetybelts by Cake.  Mark tells me this is his and Morgan's song.  Which is all kinds of awesome.