Reflecting on My Parents’ 50th Anniversary

I spend many hours a week with loving, amazing, dedicated couples in pain. Why the heck did I choose this strange line of work? I used to think it was because of my own marriage. 18+ years of creating a relationship with my wife Rivkah that is so important to me that I want to help others experience the depth of meaning in that journey. I like to take credit for my accomplishments.
Yesterday I realized how little I can own here. More honestly, it’s about what my parents taught me without saying a word. It’s about a silent and sometimes uncomfortable commitment to another human being, come what may. It’s about loss and love, pain and protection. It’s about writing a story together. A story co-written with ink crafted from the whole range of human experience. It’s hard. It’s courageous and it’s exquisitely beautiful. It’s the way I want to live and support others as they bravely struggle to do similarly.
So, while I like to arrogantly take full credit for my life, my passion and my purpose, I realize that I stand on the shoulders of giants. Two of them, my parents, remarkable people that continue to teach me what life and love are really about, without saying a word.