Best email of the year

My first date with Elysha (though I didn’t know it was a date) was a hike up Mount Carmel in Hamden, CT. We climbed the mountain as friends, but halfway down, she reached out and took my hand, and she hasn’t let go since.

After the hike, we returned to my apartment, where we sat side by side on an uncomfortable futon and talked.

Real, meaningful stuff.

But amid this conversation, Elysha said, “The Simpsons are coming on at 6:00. Would you mind if we watched?”

I felt like the heavens had opened, and I could hear the angels singing.

I first watched The Simpsons as an 18-year-old while living in Attleboro, MA, with my friend, Bengi, in a home we affectionately referred to as The Heavy Metal Playhouse. For more than three years, we watched without missing an episode.

About a year ago, Charlie and I began watching The Simpsons when the show started streaming on Disney. Clara had no interest at the time, but recently, she’s started watching with us, which has made me extremely happy.

It made this email, sent by Clara to me, even more heartwarming:

“Dad! I have Kellapella after school today. Don’t watch The Simpsons without me!”

It’s so rare to have something present in your life for so many years.

The Simpsons is one of them for me, and I’m so very grateful for it.