Shamelessly stolen from her Facebook page because I love it so much. Probably photo credit Frank Sarmiento.

Thirteen years ago, I moved to the Silicon Valley and worked with a company called IDT.  While there, I befriended a super-smart techie named Paul, and helped Paul get a job at a startup called Andale.  Six months later, Paul talked me into joining Andale and once I did, I had the opportunity to meet his then-wife, who would come and have dinner with us in the evenings.

Erin and I hit it off instantly. With common interests across the board and similar outlooks on life, we were destined to be friends and it wasn’t long before we felt like we’d always known each other. Erin quickly became one of only a couple people I would trust to babysit Kayla, and we decided to adopt each other as the sisters our parents didn’t have the sense to give us.

Eventually, Paul was out of the picture, but Erin and I were still going strong. She’s a fantastic partner in crime – the kind I can see a concert with, work on art projects with, do heavy lifting with, or plan wicked pranks with.

Erin is the kind of teacher every kid should have twelve of in a life, but is lucky if they get just one. She’s currently teaching second grade, but she has taught everything from kindergarten through eighth. She’s fluent in spanish and english, massacres a little Russian now and then, and loves to dance.  The daughter of an artist and an architect, she’s also got a keen eye for aesthetics and can discuss the finer points of just about any kind of design.

I have been blessed to have Erin’s friendship over the last 13 years, and I’m proud that she’ll be standing up with me.  She’s a truly amazing, kind and wonderful woman you’ll all be lucky to get to know.