(Name), I of­fer you not the “sum­mer of my life” but the au­tumn, brisk and vi­brant. I promise to be a com­pan­ion wor­thy of your pre­cious friend­ship. I pledge you com­pas­sion in good times and bad; en­cour­age­ment in sick­ness and health. It is my in­tent that our lives to­geth­er in­clude our large cir­cle of friends and lov­ing fam­i­lies. We’ll cher­ish the mem­o­ries of our in­di­vid­ual pasts; and cre­ate our new life as we go now together.