We are so, so grateful.
The last month for us has been full of incredibly high highs, and incredibly low lows. We have both given up full time jobs, and a steady income. We have left our families and friends. We have embarked on the open road, trusting the universe with our dream. We knew (and still know) that we couldn't accomplish it alone. We have been required to confront a lot of our greatest fears. Fear of rejection. Fear of failure. Fear of commitment. Fear of abandonment. Fear of asking for things—including money—from people we love and care about.
All of these fears experienced at the same time made for one overwhelmingly intense month of uncertainty and growth.
And now, here we sit at the precipice of something amazing. Your donations, time, support, stories, hospitality, love, and many countless sacrifices have opened up the door for us to pursue our dream to bring more love into the world.
Neither of us have a child, but I assume that the feeling we have now is as close as we'll get to bringing a child into the world. There is an overwhelming feeling of joy, pride, excitement, and anticipation, with a slight undertone of worry. You don't want to drop your baby on its head, after all.
We digress.
It would be a shame for us to continue blazing across the country without giving a nod to some of the people who made a special effort to make this project a reality.
Nate's Acknowledgments:
Mom and Dad. You've let me live in your basement for a year while I figured out my life, pursued my passions. You never questioned my motives, or gave me any reason to believe you weren't fully supportive...even when I invited Melissa, a virtual stranger, into your home to live in the bedroom next to mine for 6 weeks. Your generosity, support and love means more than the world to me. Without you, this project would not be taking place. Thank you.
And to Melissa's mom, thanks for raising such a lovely, intelligent, passionate, and competent daughter who is not only acting as my travel companion, but my friend and my teacher along this journey. Your strength of character, humor, and tenacity shines through her every day.
Next, my friends:
Jonny, Steve, Garrett, Sandy, Jason, Josh, and Sarah, Ben, Jessica, Kristy, Joel, Zack, Zack, Michelle, Jeff and Kelly, Lauren, Torben, Vegor and Errin, Marisa, Amber, Molly, Lolly, everyone from my Bold family, and my Crossfit family, and friends that are basically adopted family...I'm just so grateful for you all. Thanks for listening to me prattle on about my dreams, my aspirations, my goals, and for helping me make them better.
Thanks for taking my ideas as seriously—sometimes more seriously—than I take them.
Thanks for being there to listen to me when I felt like I was going to fail, like I wasn't enough, or like this wouldn't or couldn't happen...and thanks even more for being the ones who told me to get up, press onward, and keep trying until I saw the success that you knew could see for myself even when I could not.
Melissa's Acknowledgments:
Mom: You are the best mom I could've ever asked for. I think about how insanely blessed I am to have been raised by you every single day. Thank you so much for being such an active mom, and hustling to open doors so I could walk through them later in my life and make my wildest dreams come true. You are the most loving, honest, nurturing, gregarious person I know. It is truly an honor to call you mom; thank you for supporting me and all of my crazy adventures. I love you to infinity.
Camille & Craig: Thank you so much for inviting me into your home and treating me like part of the family. I felt so welcomed; there is incredible warmth in the home and family you've built. I learned far more than you know about love and commitment from being around the two of you for 6 weeks. I am eternally grateful. Thanks for raising such a great son—he's got a heart of gold, and his commitment, discernment, and care for others perfectly reflects the wonderful parents who raised him.
Sarah: For being like a sister to me for 6 weeks. You are the perfect combination of heart-centered, funny, thoughtful, and easy going. I feel so blessed to know you, and I'll be thinking about you for the next 18 months while you're learning, growing, and creating incredible memories in France.
To all of the incredible friends who have stuck by me through the highest highs and lowest lows, and shaped me into a better woman: Geada Lauren Ford, Jean Powell, Kate Picinich, Amber Rae, Emma Furman, Holly O'Dell, Liz Song, Franca Ruggiero, Bridget Moore, Maddy Leder, Bradley Tipper, Seth Kravitz, Jonathan Pasky, Crystal Shuller, Adam Miller, Jill Felska, Katherine Lannom, and Matt Runyon. You have no idea how special each of you all are to me. So thankful for every single one of you.
S: Save the best for last. I could never have planned for you and the role you would play in my life. You cracked my heart wide open, loved and accepted me for exactly who I am, and reminded me of what I'm waiting for. You are my inspiration and encouragement for chasing this dream. I literally could not have done this without you. Thank you for being the catalyst for this journey I am on—one of learning about what it truly means to love others, and more essentially, myself. You are part of every adventure I have and lesson I learn on this trip. My heart swells with love and gratitude for you, every single day. Thank you.
All the people we've interviewed and will interview:
Your stories, wisdom, and vulnerability are the heartwarming center of this entire project. We could not bring The Loveumentary to life without you. We are beyond grateful to every single one of you for opening up your hearts and homes to us. Thank you for allowing us to tell your story. You crack open the minds and hearts of every single person who gets to listen to it. We love you, and are honored to know all of you!
To all of our Kickstarter backers:
Seriously, you have no idea how rad all of you are. We are so ridiculously humbled by your financial support, and your willingness to share this project with the people you love. Every single dollar really did count, and we hope that every one of you who contributed knows just how much your contribution meant to us. You are the reason we are making this project—and one of our biggest dreams—a reality.
Our designer:
Rachel, you are such an awesome human being. Without much direction from us at all, you jumped in and made our Kickstarter page look super amazing. We are so excited to work with you. Thanks for being so rad and patient throughout the craziness of the last few months. You are such a warm, lovely soul, with mad design skills to match.
Last, but definitely not least, we want thank our sponsor:
Couple App—woot woot!!
To Jessy and the Couple team: We are so grateful and excited to be sponsored by you! You have been so supportive of us, and this project couldn't have happened without you. We're so thankful to all of you, and feel lucky to work with such a talented team of people. Thank you for believing in us!
Also, a totally awesome plug—we seriously love Couple app. It's an incredible (and super fun) way to connect with the person you love. So, if you're in a relationship, this is something you must download today. We promise, you won't regret it. Download Couple App here!