Larry:

Our family makes love Soup. When Laura and I met, not really knowing each other, we tossed all of our insecurities, and our pictures of what we were looking for in a partner into the soup. Laura did not fit my pictures. Sure, she was the most beautiful women I had ever met, but I was looking for a petite brunette with a distinct dark side to her personality. She was, well something different. Fortunately, I was exactly what she was looking for. She woke up one morning and cheerfully proclaimed that what she wanted was a guy who was balding, 13 years her senior, from a different faith background and working in a steady job in retail; a job that provided him with the opportunity to work on nights, weekends and holidays. Is it possible that I did not fit her pictures either? But still there was something. We thought we would give it one date and see how it went.

And so we started making love soup. It tasted okay right from the start, but it was clear it was not going to be ready any time soon. As we slowly added the more important ingredients: kindness, good communication, values, interests, and an appreciation for who the other was in the world, some of those nasty pictures of what we had thought we wanted popped to the surface, and we were able to ladle them off. And we kept stirring over a low flame. We allowed each other the freedom to keep adding ingredients, and continued tasting the soup, until one day we looked at each other and were overwhelmed with the realization that what we had was tasty enough that we could commit to it for a lifetime.

Laura:

Yes, so this is where I come into the talk….

And yes, as Larry mentioned, when we first met, he did not fit my “pictures’….but after a while, well several years actually, as we spent time together, working through issues, and sharing our lives, our goals, and our commitments….a perfect partnership was formed. And yes, I proposed to him at Zuma Beach… we created a beautiful wedding ceremony with our friend Liz, who just happened to be a Unitarian Minister (a foreshadowing of our future connection to this church.) And I recall one important line from that ceremony that especially applies today. Love isn’t a feeling, but rather love is an “action” or series of actions that you take everyday because you know what you can and want to create together.

Sort of like what it takes to make a great bowl of soup.

Larry:

And a few years later, we decided to create a new flavor and out popped Jacob; the ultimate expression of our love. We think of him as our 10 year old partner in the soup business. Now that our family is complete, as a team we keep adding ingredients and tasting and making our family love soup more delicious every day.

No, it is not always easy. No it is not always fun. But it is always about making the best love soup we can.

We light the chalice today for the possibility of love soup. We share our love soup with you and wish you all a happy Valentines Day.