Rod and Andree at our wedding in New Mexico.

I met Rod and Andree in 2003. After nine months of being on medical leave from my job as an editor and going to physical therapy several times a week and seeing various doctors who didn’t seem to know how to fix my body after a car accident, I decided – with mixed emotions – to leave the city and move in with Dan in a small mountain town nestled in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico.

While I was excited to be with Dan and also just down the road from my mom, I was nervous to be so far away from everything and everyone. I wasn’t sure how the rugged mountain life and I would get along. I liked things a certain way. I liked amenities. I liked cable and fast internet. I liked air conditioning. I liked central heat. And I didn’t particularly like being outside. But, I knew that my body needed time to heal, and I realized that my paid leave couldn’t last forever. And, since I could no longer edit because of my injuries, I realized that it was time to give up my apartment and try something new.

A few months after settling into my new routine, which mostly consisted of lying on the couch and waiting for Dan to come home from work, my mom asked if I wanted to go with her to meet her friend Andree at the bottom of the mountain. I figured it would probably be a good idea for me to get out of the house for a change, so down the road we went and parked at a southwest gift shop.

Immediately upon walking in, I heard dogs barking and even saw a couple who seemed to smile at me through the gate. My mom walked to the counter in the back and said hello to Andree and told her that she had brought me to meet her. While I’m usually pretty shy when first meeting people, Andree immediately put me at ease and welcomed me not only to her shop but also to the area. She began showing me around, pointing out her stunning jewelry that she made with her husband, Rod, and also showing me all of the handmade Native American pottery that they carried. We sat down with her and talked and talked, and I knew that I had made a dear friend.

I began showing up more regularly, and I eventually met Rod, who was much more reserved but equally as kind. Soon, Dan went down to meet them, too, and we were both so moved by their palpable love for each other, for what they did, for their dogs, and for their life. We wanted what they had. Dan was still working an hour away – commuting back and forth. And I was in limbo – not sure what I would do (or even could do) next.

I had always loved crafts, and I wondered if I could make jewelry, too. Without hesitation, Andree happily took out her supplies and showed me the basics – how to make an earring loop, how to use the tools, and how to get started. I was so grateful to have a purpose again and immediately bought my own supplies and let the creativity flow. And with that, the entrepreneurial spirit inside of me was born.

The beautiful rings Rod and Andree made for us as a wedding gift.

Surprisingly, I had not only taken to making jewelry, but I had settled right into mountain life. I couldn’t imagine ever living in a city again – I loved the quiet and the peacefulness that the mountains brought. I loved our neighbor’s dog, Xena, who had quickly become our best friend and spent most of her time at our house. I loved taking walks with Dan, my mom, and her dogs. I loved not needing to wake up to an alarm or stress over work projects. I loved walking across the dirt road to pet the horses. I loved slowing down. So, when my medical leave ended and I knew I couldn’t go back to my job, I decided to stay in the mountains with Dan.

We planned our wedding and asked Andree and Rod to help us design our wedding rings – a love knot to symbolize two individuals coming together. They were thrilled to make them for us, and to our surprise, they gave them to us as a wedding gift. We had a very small wedding in our backyard with only a few close friends, and we were so happy that Andree and Rod were there to celebrate with us.

Our first craft show.

That fall, my body had healed enough to work part time (alongside Dan) as middle-school journalism teachers just a few miles from our house. While the kids were great, we knew that we wanted to work for ourselves. Andree and Rod told us about a craft show that was taking place about an hour away at the county fair, so we loaded up some of their jewelry, my mom’s pottery, and my own earrings into the car and our business was officially born. We made enough to go out to eat that night, and I knew that I had caught the “freedom” bug and could never be happy working for anyone else.

So at the end of the semester, Dan and I both quit and dove into our business full time. We eventually moved onto wirewrapping and modern designs using eco-friendly silver and then added in candles, journals, notepads, and greeting cards to our product line. And, after many years, we decided to write our own journals and eventually our own books. And we’ve never forgotten that we have Andree and Rod to thank for planting that first seed.

One of my jewelry designs.

We left New Mexico many years ago and moved to California so Dan could attend graduate school. We weren’t able to visit often and sadly didn’t keep in touch with anyone there besides my mom. During our last visit, we had plans to stop by the gift shop and catch up with Rod and Andree, but I had altitude sickness so we headed back home early. We eventually moved to the west coast and our lives and business continued to evolve. But we never forgot about this special couple. In fact, every time someone met us and commented on our unique wedding rings, we always told them how our dear friends had made them for us as a wedding present. We were (and continue to be) so grateful for them.

I just found out yesterday that Rod passed away from cancer. And my heart hurts to know that I never got the chance to tell him how pivotal they both were to our lives and how much they mean to me. My mom told Andree this on the phone yesterday, and Andree said that she already knew. And that she loved us. We love them both, too. I know that we are just two people out of many who feel the same way about them as we do. They touched so many lives and helped so many, without ever expecting anything in return.

My mom sent me an article that was written about them several years ago, and in it Rod was saying how before he started making jewelry he was just about to complete his PhD in chemistry and realized that he wasn’t happy. He would come home from work and class and help Andree with her jewelry at night and found that he liked using his hands and spending time together. He knew that this path felt more authentic to who he was, so they took a big risk and moved to New Mexico and created a life making and selling their jewelry.

And what Rod doesn’t realize (or maybe he does if his soul can pop in and read this) is that I’m at a similar pivotal moment in my life right now. I’m feeling a bit lost and am looking for guidance, and once again, he’s there to offer it – in his own quiet, non-intrusive way. The article was filled with the exact wisdom that I needed to hear. Be authentic, he said. Accept yourself, he said. Live a life where you feel free, he said. Do what you love, he said. Be kinder to yourself, he said. Let go of perfection, he said. Allow yourself to be happy, he said.

My heart breaks for Andree, knowing that her love isn’t here on Earth anymore. But I’m so happy that they got to share so many years together, doing what they loved and being with the person they loved. I love that they were brave enough to live life on their own terms. They are still inspiring me – even from afar – all these years later.

And I’m taking their example and their message to heart. I’m holding them both close to me…and I will always thank them for lighting the spark inside of me that brought me to where I am today. And I thank Rod for finding a way to reach me once again to make sure that spark keeps on burning. I feel that, in his own special way, he’s passing the baton. He’s reminding me that I’m in control of my own happiness and that I get to create a life that feels just as good on the inside as it appears on the outside. So that’s what I’ll be focusing on. I’m going to create a life on my own terms…just like Rod did.

It’s my hope that we all do. Because it matters. We matter. Our happiness matters. And our lives matter.

Thank you, Rod and Andree, for helping me remember this.

The four of us at our wedding.

Hugs,