Winter Boots in the Spring
By Richard Paisner
“Winter boots in the spring, is that a thing?” I asked my then-girlfriend, now wife, Sarah, as we sat at a restaurant. I had just met this 7-year-old boy, Andy, who JBBBS thought I would click with at the JCC in Newton. I was 24 years old and so nervous I asked Sarah to meet me right after my meeting. I told her he was a polite little kid, and we talked and hung out as we got to know each other. Despite the great time together, I couldn’t get over the boots. It was a beautiful day, why the need for boots?
Andy and I were matched and started seeing each other every Sunday. At first, we would plan bigger events: bowling, concerts, video games, and the biggest of them all, the Hot Dog Safari, an event filled with dozens and dozens of different foods for us to eat and try. We made matching shirts and walked the event, trying food from all over.
As we both got older, our time together became less about the experience and more about the time together. Andy was the first to learn about my pending engagement to Sarah, and I told him about the ring I had bought. Even though he was only 8 years old at the time, he showed incredible excitement for me. In fact, Andy and his mom Joyce danced with me and Sarah at our wedding in Milwaukee.
In the years that followed, he and I supported one another during times of loss and difficulty. I was diagnosed with a brain tumor not long after my wedding, and Andy and Joyce came to my bedside to visit me and try to cheer me up. Andy told me as if we were sitting in a bagel shop, “You’ll feel better soon, Rich; we have to get back to our shop to try the new bagel.” His positivity during my lowest moments helped me push back to my old ways and our Sunday routine, bagels, and talking.
“I had planned to teach my little brother about dating, sports, and life, but what really happened was that Andy taught me how to be a better person“.
Many years later, the roles had reversed. Sarah and I danced with Andy and his wife Kendall at his wedding. I couldn’t help but think that the decades had flown by. All the conversations and fun had passed in the blink of an eye. I realized what I thought would happen after our meeting in the JCC hadn’t happened. I had planned to teach my little brother about dating, sports, and life, but what really happened was that Andy taught me how to be a better person. If I could have told my 24-year-old self that this would have happened, I would never have believed it.
It’s funny. As I sat down to start writing, I looked down at my feet, and who would have thought I was wearing winter boots on a beautiful day? I guess it is a thing.
Rich Paisner runs a family dental and medical supply business on the South Shore. He volunteered with JBBBS soon after graduating college and hasn’t looked back since. Rich is married with three daughters and hopes that they will one day volunteer with JBBBS and grow up with a Little Brother or Sister like he has.