Happy Birthday, Matty!

Happy birthday, Matty! Where would I be without you?

Well, if we hadn’t met in 2003, I probably wouldn’t have learned the name of Maroon 5, so there’s that.

Since you stole me away from grad school applications in 2008 and it’s now 2012, I would most likely be trying to wrap up a PhD program in which I studied the effect of popular culture on perceptions of US history and/or the use of technology to improve public education (depending on which program I chose). I would have been in that program and tied to a campus, so I probably wouldn’t have been able to be there when my nieces needed me, so Morgan wouldn’t be living with me, and probably wouldn’t have become the person she is today. That also means I wouldn’t have been there to rescue the feral cat/kittens in Warner Robins, and O’Malley and Bailey would have been rough and tumble feral fighter cats instead of the furry yarn-attacking playmates that keep me company when I work at home. I wouldn’t have needed to find a new school for the twins, so I wouldn’t have moved to Tybee. I wouldn’t have moved my mother to Savannah when she retired, and the new lease on life that move gave her wouldn’t have happened. I wouldn’t have met half the people who make up the bulk of my daily interactions, and some of my closest friends. I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to give something like WordPress to tens of millions of people around the world.

So thank you for WordPress, and my cool job, and being one of my best friends. You can keep the Maroon 5.

Here’s to another 9 years — happy 28th birthday!

If you also are glad that Matt exists (and that WordPress does too), consider letting him know by donating $28 to his charity: water campaign.