Out where dreams come true

The sky can do magical things.

It dances, glows, inspires, nourishes, connects.

Last week, that big, glorious sky gussied itself up to witness a proposal that will expand our family in beautiful ways.

Ed proposed to our daughter Katherine under the Northern Lights of Iceland and we could not be more thrilled for both of them.

And for us.

The sky plays a key role in families like ours. Its moon and stars offer focal points that make the far reaches of this old world more familiar and the distances between us less daunting.

So, when Ed offered Katherine his hand on a remote hill in Iceland, we all cheered him from under the same sky in West Orange, Maiden Rock, Cecil, Appleton and Iowa City.

The sky that enveloped us all on that magical night also provided the means for us to gather this Thanksgiving and toast the happy couple.

As her siblings and their families made their way home for the holiday, Katherine and Ed flew from Reykjavik to Boston to Chicago to Green Bay in order to join us.

Thankfully, they enjoyed clear skies and following winds for that trek.

Ed and Katherine met in LA four months before the start of the pandemic lock down. The California sky offered them freedom. It gave them some breathing room when it stretched its star-sprinkled self over the desert hiking trails they explored.

Then, when Katherine mentioned that she missed the Midwest, especially at Christmas time, Ed took her to find some Christmas magic in the sky.

He served her hot toddies, showed her the twinkle-lit Venice Canals and played her the Charlie Brown Christmas album.

With a little help from the Icelandic sky, he recreated that scene during his proposal.

We’re so thrilled that she enthusiastically said yes.

My message to young parents understandably lamenting the swift passage of childhood is this: Have no fears.

Your sweet children are going to grow into fascinating adults. They’ll fall in love and expand your family in such beautiful ways you won’t even believe your luck.

One day you’ll look up from a table crowded with people you and they love, and you’ll thank your lucky stars for your big ole family and the wonderful way it expands.

Congratulations to Katherine and Ed.

We love you and we’re so very grateful for the light you share.