Happy birthday to a young king

Joseph rolls down the street with just the right amount of swagger.

He knows everyone, and greets them all with the kind of enthusiasm that can make a quick trip to the grocery store take an extra hour. Polite to the people his mother raised him to respect, Joseph enjoys a diverse constituency. He hoops it up with police officers during Wednesday night pickup games, enjoys occasional breakfasts with octogenarians, analyzes his Packers with an earned astuteness thanks to his own time on the field and in front of the screen, and is a reliable worker.

He checks in on his giant family regularly, worries about them, cheers them on, loves talking to them and runs into them everywhere.

“Hey! That’s my cousin!” he says when he spots a familiar face while walking into the mall food court, or heading through a parking lot, or standing in line.

He shares an apartment with a sometimes cantankerous cat named Boo and they’ve settled into an amiable detente. He has a fiancée to whom he is devoted, and a good job,

All of this would be impressive enough, but it is especially so for Joseph, who has maintained a natural exuberance in the face of some unfathomable challenges. A series of tattoos trace his story, offering tributes to his mother, who died dramatically when he was 15, and to his father, who passed away due to cancer a year earlier.

Despite those terrible losses, Joseph still bounces through life with a natural optimism, charisma and joy.

Today is Joseph’s 22nd birthday and I hope you’ll join us all in wishing him the very best year.