I don't want to do this.

I don’t want to do this. 

I do not. Want to. Do this.

Sorry. But from the jump, I didn’t want to participate in this letter exercise. 

I don’t have much to add in the way of intelligent thought - see Tom’s first letter referencing such literature as The Ferrante Letters and The Neapolitan Quartet. Eye roll.

I’ve never heard of either of these, but I assure you they’re above my lexile ;). What a way to entice me to write. “Hey Tom, I have an idea - let’s hit the gym together. Don’t worry if you’re unsure; here’s a little inspiration for the…beginner.”

I’m currently reading a book called Boys in the Boat cause it’s about dudes doing dude stuff in a dude boat (insert Beavis and Butthead laugh). I’ll be lucky to finish it in 3 months. 

I also won’t have much to add in the way of heart - Chelsea, your letter wrecked me. I was in tears missing my dear friend Tom, mourning the loss of being able to arrange a driving-distance Marigold hang, and remembering cherished moments with both of you. 

Cherished Moments Tangent: for some reason, of all the many hours we’ve spent together, I often think of one quarantine zoom call as the epitome of our friendship. The plan for that night was to have a “Teacher Draft,” a la major sports leagues. Here are rules I emailed y’all in advance: 

We made it through the draft and as I remember it, I did indeed win. 

But the reason I think so much about that zoom call is because of where it went after the draft. We stayed on late into the night chatting about all sorts of nonsense. I specifically remember discussing how we were feeling about…death! (Tom, per ushe, referenced some academic literature on the topic that was above my head) 

That call perfectly illustrates what I love about our little Marigold group.

Get you a group of friends who can participate in the silliness of a Teacher Draft and get deep into the messiness of life. I’m so glad I got mine.

Anyway.

To do my own quoting of great literature:

“Letters can be unfinished and imperfect.”

I don’t want to do this.