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The other day Jeffrey asked me about Lily. Fact is she has big news! She's with a guy!

Colin is a graduate of the West Point class of 2006 (he's a year older than Rose). In 2014, as a Rifle Company Commander on his third tour in Afghanistan he lost his right hand and much of his forearm. What followed was several years of surgeries, fitting and mastering ever more complex and sophisticated prostheses, and seemingly endless physical and occupational therapies.

He could have stayed in the Army, but not as an airborne infantryman. As he said to me, “What's the point?” So in the summer of 2018 he left the Army and enrolled in medical school in Houston.

In January of 2020, just before the Covid madness hit, Lily was invited to be part of a panel of experts speaking to second year medical students about the status and progress of several major lines of medical research. Of course she jumped at the chance. The panel presentation was the last event of the day and was followed by a “Meet and Greet” chance for the students to talk with the panel members informally. Colin had one objective in mind: He was gonna meet that cute Dr. Roberts! By the end of the afternoon he had her phone number, and she was intrigued by the ruggedly handsome medical student! They met for lunch several times and a few real dates followed.

Soon, of course, the world fell apart and Lily was working crazy hours in the lab. Near the point of exhaustion every day, she now tells us that the thing that kept her going was texts and calls from Colin. They snuck in lunch dates when they could, but mostly it was just encouragements that he sent her way. And of course for him school became a maddeningly challenging mix of remote and digital learning.

Once the vaccines became available and life began to (sort of) return to normal so too did their relationship. Finally this summer Lily shared the news that they were “a couple” and had moved in together. She's not wearing any rings, but I won't be the least bit surprised if that's not in the future somewhere.

Colin's now in his third year of med school. With his hand situation he'll never be a surgeon, but his goal is to become a Primary Care Physician and work in the VA medical system. He'll be perfect there. Who could instill more confidence in a veteran than one of our own who shows a visible and tangible sign of the commitment he made?

In my mind there are all kinds of positives here. First, and by far the most important, Lily's happier than I've ever known her to be. Who could ask for more than that? Second, Colin is a really good guy. Lily found a keeper. And, for the benefit of all of us, they are OK with her still doing some modeling as long as either Colin or Rose is there to chaperone! Hmmm. Who don't they trust???

So there you have it, a good news update on our sweet Lily!

Description
The other day Jeffrey asked me about Lily. Fact is she has big news! She's with a guy!

Colin is a graduate of the West Point class of 2006 (he's a year older than Rose). In 2014, as a Rifle Company Commander on his third tour in Afghanistan he lost his right hand and much of his forearm. What followed was several years of surgeries, fitting and mastering ever more complex and sophisticated prostheses, and seemingly endless physical and occupational therapies.

He could have stayed in the Army, but not as an airborne infantryman. As he said to me, “What's the point?” So in the summer of 2018 he left the Army and enrolled in medical school in Houston.

In January of 2020, just before the Covid madness hit, Lily was invited to be part of a panel of experts speaking to second year medical students about the status and progress of several major lines of medical research. Of course she jumped at the chance. The panel presentation was the last event of the day and was followed by a “Meet and Greet” chance for the students to talk with the panel members informally. Colin had one objective in mind: He was gonna meet that cute Dr. Roberts! By the end of the afternoon he had her phone number, and she was intrigued by the ruggedly handsome medical student! They met for lunch several times and a few real dates followed.

Soon, of course, the world fell apart and Lily was working crazy hours in the lab. Near the point of exhaustion every day, she now tells us that the thing that kept her going was texts and calls from Colin. They snuck in lunch dates when they could, but mostly it was just encouragements that he sent her way. And of course for him school became a maddeningly challenging mix of remote and digital learning.

Once the vaccines became available and life began to (sort of) return to normal so too did their relationship. Finally this summer Lily shared the news that they were “a couple” and had moved in together. She's not wearing any rings, but I won't be the least bit surprised if that's not in the future somewhere.

Colin's now in his third year of med school. With his hand situation he'll never be a surgeon, but his goal is to become a Primary Care Physician and work in the VA medical system. He'll be perfect there. Who could instill more confidence in a veteran than one of our own who shows a visible and tangible sign of the commitment he made?

In my mind there are all kinds of positives here. First, and by far the most important, Lily's happier than I've ever known her to be. Who could ask for more than that? Second, Colin is a really good guy. Lily found a keeper. And, for the benefit of all of us, they are OK with her still doing some modeling as long as either Colin or Rose is there to chaperone! Hmmm. Who don't they trust???

So there you have it, a good news update on our sweet Lily!