48. Greg

The first thing I noticed about Greg was how hilarious he was.

The second thing I noticed about Greg was how thoughtful he was.

And the third thing I noticed about Greg was how much he liked to spend his paycheck on me.

We started dating in 1979 when we were both teenagers. Our first date lasted 16 hours. He picked me up at 7am and we drove two hours to Cedar Point so we could be there when it opened. We spent the entire day there and never ran out of things to say. Or do. Or eat. Or buy.

I love this picture because being around Greg is safe. I can lean on him. He is calm and steady. He is there through thick and through thin.

It’s a little daunting to write about 40+ years of best-friendery. So I will tell you some of my favorite things about Greg.

Greg is charismatic. He knows all the people in all the stores. He checks on them and chats with them. And they light up when they see him, because they know he cares.

Greg is funny. He has a wry sense of humor that comes out of left field. He is one of the funniest people I know.

Greg is endlessly creative. He writes novels, he makes videos, and is a sidesplitting photo-commenter (second only to Kookslams)

Greg is generous. With his time, with his friendship, and with his love.

And last but not least, Greg is one amazing dad.  When the kids were little he would bound home from work and start his evening job of kid-entertainer. And when they were school aged, he decided to try home-schooling. During the summers he invented Kamp Koren, each week with it’s own theme and adventures. And through the teen years he somehow managed to stay the cool-dad that the kids wanted to talk to.

To the man, the husband, and the dad: Happy Father's Day to one of the best guys around.