I should add...

Ask anyone who has known Sarah to describe her in just a few words, and I guarantee that some variation of the word smart will be the first thing you hear. (Often smart AF, maybe wicked smart when you're within the Boston Metropolitan Area.) My girl has brains to spare. She knows a lot about a lot. If you're threatened by her intelligence, it speaks more about you than it does about her. In conversation, she's engaging; she listens - she doesn't steamroll over you (even though she probably already knows everything you're about to say long before you finish saying it). If you've got your facts wrong, she'll correct you in a kind way - unless you're a blowhard, and even then she won't dunk on you just for the sake of it. She's a very active listener and loves to add layers and nuance to what you're saying. She likes teaching people things they didn't know, but her brain really lights up when she's talking with someone and finds out they both know the same wierd fact or uncommon bit of knowledge. She doesn't want to tower over you intellectually; she wants to bring you to where she is and she's beyond excited whenever she finds out you're already there.

This broad knowledge leads me to one of my new favourite things about Sarah. The thing itself isn't new, I was just never really aware of how often it happened until recently. And it gives me so much joy every time I see it. It happened once when we were talking to a psychologist, and Sarah was mentioning specifics about the DSM-5 and some recent study that had been published on ADHD. The doctor sort of cocked her head to the side while Sarah was speaking and then said, "So, you have a background in psychology." I've seen it happen when we took one of the kids to the walk-in clinic. Sarah was having a peer-level discussion with the nurse who said, "Oh, you must be in nursing." It's happened with teachers, insurance agents, realtors, and more. I've seen it enough over the past year that I know precisely when it's about to happen and it's that moment I watch for and love. There's a look in the person's eye, or a furrowed brow followed by a little smile. Then I see them thinking something to the effect of, I guess I'm not just talking to a civilian here. And every time -- after somone suggests that she must work in tourism, or personal investment, or whatever else -- Sarah laughs and says, "No, no: I'm just a nerd." I love this beautiful nerd like no other.