I found out that Mike and my mom were together when I was 12 years old; it was right on the heels of my parents’ divorce, & basically I was hurting & ready to despise him in that uniquely preteen kind of way. But Mike was steady and calm. He respected me and the situation. He told my mom he didn’t want any part of disciplining me; he just made it clear that he was here to support me. The first few years, we sort of kept a friendly distance from each other, but before I knew it, Mike was an honorary dad. He attended football games to watch me cheer and took lots of pictures— like he was proud of me. He sent me money every month in college, despite me having a job, & told me it was strictly to be used for valet parking so that I wouldn’t need to walk anywhere in LA at night. Whenever heartbreaks would happen, he’d simply pat me on the head & tell me that men were idiots. He didn’t have to treat me like I was a kid of his own, but he did. I was really proud of him, too. Mike was a world renowned reproductive endocrinologist (fertility doc) & was a leader in his field. Most recently, he even helped women who were born without uteruses carry and deliver babies! Every year, grateful families he had helped make possible through his work would gather at a “baby reunion” to celebrate him. It was incredibly moving to see. 🥹 He was a genius & had many inventions; he would literally dream them up, and then before we knew it, he would have a patent on a cutting edge, game-changing surgical tool. I was in awe of him. When he and my mom divorced over 10 years ago, Mike and I vowed that nothing between US would change. We kept that promise and only grew closer. He was there at the hospital when I had each of my babies, and we continued to spend Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas together every single year. We had a dinner date every month. We were not a traditional family, but we were family that we CHOSE & fully committed to. My beloved Mike died unexpectedly from a cardiac arrest on Saturday, and I’m just now able to type those words. He absolutely took a piece of my heart with him. Love you forever, Mikeypoo. Rest easy. 🩶