Max and I have had very heavy hearts and a rough week last week! You see, we lost one Max's dearest, life-long friends in a very tragic accident! Tom Leary was one of Max's groomsmen in our wedding (served as the second best man) and was a best friend and brother to my husband! He was a dear friend to me and treated me like a sister! Our hearts have ached over losing this precious friend and I would ask you to keep the Leary family in your prayers! I wanted to share a little from the eulogy that Tom's twin brother, Charles, gave at his funeral:
"Tom would rather be ashes than dust! He would rather that his spark burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. Tom's function as a man was to live, not to exist.
In New York, Tom was your first call if you were in trouble; if you were sick or just homesick; needed a good laugh, a last minute dinner reservation in the theater district, if you needed help throwing a party, or just needed to make sure someone brought the queso. If you were visiting New York and wanted a host, he would say all he needed was a fifteen minute heads up.
He loved wearing his tux. He had been to a few weddings lately... and always said “I pretty much owned the dance floor.” Sure, Tom. But he also loved wearing his flip flops. During college, in the tundra yankee winter, people would ask him why he's wearing flip-flops. To which his reply would be: “cause I'm from Texas.”...what other reason do you need?
Tom was generous, warm, witty, charming, and refined; a man of style and substance; a man with famous locks and a signature smile; a loveable cynic, a trusted confidant, a romantic at heart; a lover of cheese, hater of vegetables. He never really trusted people that did not eat meat. He wanted you to live well, drink well, and spare no expense, because, he said, you never know when its going to be your last.
We are all better people for knowing Tom, and because of him we have had more laughs than we deserved, and felt welcome in his presence. We all need to step up our game now. Live life like he did. Travel and experience the world. Care about your friends and family more. Be a generous and thoughtful host."
This was not the entire eulogy but some of my favorite parts! Tom was the ultimate host, an amazing friend and someone you could always rely on! He is truly going to be missed and I challenge each of you to think about others, just as Tom did!
Have a great week.
So proud of him and his diligence! He is starting his next module today and is taking Organizational Management and Statistics! After his stressful week of finals, we took off for the weekend to Lost Pines...pictures below...
This was one of the views as you pull up. Lost Pines is down in the Hill Country near Austin in a small town called Bastrop. We went down Friday afternoon and came back Sunday! We had an absolute blast together just taking long walks, eating great food and hanging out. I even got to go to the spa which was a huge treat! At night we would sit by the fire pits (like pictured below) and roast smores!
We have about decided that we are going to make it a point to get away after his hell-week of finals and go spend some time together and relax! Not sure what the next destination is, but will be sure to update you all! 
