Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?

Listen while you read:  https://youtu.be/J789GId1kaY

For the morning sun in all its glory greets the day with hope and comfort
You fill my life with laughter and somehow make it better
Ease my troubles, that's what you do

There's a love that's divine and it's yours and it's mine like the sun
And at the end of the day, we should give thanks and pray to the one

Have I told you lately that I love you?
Have I told you there's no one else above you?
Fill my heart with gladness, take away all my sadness
Ease my troubles, that's what you do

~  Van Morrison

This one is for my girlfriend Jeannine who loves Van Morrison.  (And who doesn't?)  Happy Birthday, Jeannine!  The fact that our birthdays fall on either side of Valentine's Day should tell you something.  But it's our story that demands some attention here.

Jeannine was a student at the high school I taught at back in the 70s and 80s.  She was never in any of my classes, but I knew who she was.  She was a badass!  And she was also a student of my late husband and also my bff colleague JoAnn, so I received some first-hand accounts of Jeannine's shenanigans.  Jeannine was legendary.

Fast forward.  Given that we had some mutual friends on Facebook, Jeannine knew that I was present on that particular social media, so one day several years ago, she messaged me a lovely story about how much Pete meant to her as a teacher.  I was very moved by it, and so, of course, I responded.  After a couple of months of back and forth, we thought it might be a good idea to actually meet.  And so we did.  And the rest is history.

Jeannine is one of my best friends.  Despite that badass reputation, Jeannine is one of the kindest, most compassionate people I know.  And way smart.  You fill my life with laughter and somehow make it better / Ease my troubles, that's what you do.  I could not say it better myself.  We are girlfriends.  And any females reading this know exactly what that means.

Jeannine and I both have Irish roots, and we both love Van Morrison.  Jeannine, that lucky dog, got to see Van last fall with her daughter Maggie.  I haven't seen Van since sometime in the mid-70s when he was so drunk, he had to cancel his next night's appearance on SNL.  But Van is The Man.  Truth.

So, Jeannine . . . have I told you lately that I love you?  I'm telling you now.  Happy Birthday, Girlfriend!