Our wedding toast to Rachel and Dave

   We thought a few of you might be interested in the toast we made to Rachel and Dave at the wedding.  We were allotted two minutes.  Here it is below:

When Rachel, then known as Abby, was a week old, we took her to see her pediatrician, the wonderful Charlie Hertz.  He asked us, “Is she always this sweet and nice?”  We emphatically said yes, and he told us then, “She will always be this way.”  And so she has been, and of course, she is the very light of our lives.  And now she has brought us a son-in-law who is every bit as kind, gentle, and steadfast as she.

Things weren’t always smooth sailing, however.  In preschool, Rachel was fascinated by the “naughty” chair, and finally, to the shock of her teacher, one day she earned the dishonor.  We asked her if she didn’t like being good better than being bad, and she told us, “I like them both; I do, I do.”  So that accounts for her interest in trapeze, motorcycles, trying to live without any sleep.

Another of her famous early childhood utterances that foretold a lot was the following:  one late night, I was carrying Rachel from our bedroom to her crib, and she told me, “just drop me off by the books.”   She’s remained a great reader ever since.

Another night it was bad weather, and Elkan and I were discussing how to get a pizza for dinner. Three-year old Rachel helped us out by suggesting, “Let’s send Daddy.”  So, Dave, be on guard.  Just remember our cousin Ross’s saying, “A happy wife is a happy life.”

A guiding principle Dave has practiced repeatedly during the wedding planning.

Rachel and Dave have so much in common, including books, trapeze, circus arts, and even SAT scores.  They are devoted to each other, and have proven themselves to be people you can count on when things get tough.

I’m sure Dave’s parents will echo our feeling that we (and they) each have raised a beautiful, intelligent, kind, thoughtful, and funny child.  We never could have dreamed of a better daughter, and now, son-in-law.  We think that Rachel and Dave will go on to always fulfill each other's dreams.

So we make a toast for a long and happy marriage to Rachel and Dave Darwin.  Le chaim.