Dear Stephen Hillenburg,

Thank you for this weird little sponge with his weird little pants. No matter how chaotic and loud his world became, he always saw the best in everyone and everything. No matter how mean things could be, how stupid, how dark, or how dangerous, he always found something of value in all of it. Thank you for all the awkwardness, the laughs, and the love your creation put into the world. 

I knew him before I had kids. He was with us as they grew. And he stayed with me and kept me laughing long after they’d moved on.  You gave me something I could always turn to, and find freedom in, when the world wanted to swallow me up.

Thank you, so much Ocean Man. For everything. You were the original Goofy Goober.

Love.