I grew up with Maddy as a regular presence within our house. He was one of Chris's best friends since we had moved to Colorado, when they were in 2nd grade. My first memory with him was when he had invited my brother and I both to his house to hang out, even though I was two years older. Even then normalized social boundaries never mattered to him; he was full of life and was so generous with his kindness.
We played Magic the Gathering for many hours. I remember getting beaten quite a few times, dang future engineers and their intellect, but we all had a fantastic day. Then after lunch he took us into the garage to show us another of his hobbies. He showed us the jewelry he had been working on. It wasn't a normal elementary schooler's jewelry either (e.g., friendship bracelets and plastic beads). No it was gold. His grandfather had shown him how to make necklaces into chains and other techniques. I was awed by this. To this day I can't get over how cool that was.
There are many other stories of shenanigans throughout the years, but this story shows how I always saw Maddy. Exuberant, gregarious and nuanced, with an incredible ability to make everyone smile/ laugh when he was in the room. <3
Dear Levi,
Thank you so much for writing and sharing all this with us. It's so so important and meaningful to have this! And so true about the normal social boundaries... this is such an incredible thing that I have never seen in anyone else! My family and I were just talking about Maddy and his Magic-playing days. That was what you guys did the first time you came to our house? The details of your memories of this day and how you felt about it are amazing! Yes he and my grandpa had such a bond and he was SO interested in that. I can imagine it also being so cool to be around someone's immense passion (as I can imagine he was about showing you this awesome hobby Grandpa showed him how to do). If you would like to, I and we would absolutely LOVE to hear any and all the shenanigans you are up for sharing!! This one is so detailed and cute and so Maddy that I'm super excited to hear more, whether here or back in Boulder when I visit or at the gathering/charity event we will have next summer. Thank you again so much for sharing.
Sending big love from Berlin,
Hanna