NEVER ‘OFF THE MENU’

Experts will tell you that ordering something that is “off the menu” takes courage. You need to know what you want, and then frame your request in a convincing fashion. It involves a certain amount of risk and vulnerability.

Done successfully, you’ll be happy that you asked, and even happier with what you receive. Ask Matt Leddy. When love was “not on the menu,” he still went after it.

He is ecstatic to have ended up with Lindsay Leddy. “The best part of my day, every day,” he calls her. She is his first thought when he wakes and last before he sleeps. “Lindsay is truly everything I could ever have hoped for.”

Their story began seven years ago, shortly after Matt moved to Denver, Colorado. He joined a co-ed softball team, and immediately, Lindsay caught his eye. Matt knew he had to play it cool and play it right.

Following the team’s first game, the plan was for everyone to go out for beers, hang out, and watch football. Lindsay wasn’t going to be able to stay for very long, as she had prior plans to go to a friend’s birthday party.

Quick-thinking Matt had an idea. “If you give me your phone number,” he told her, “I’ll let you know if the team is still hanging out here after your party. You could meet back up with us.” He got her number! 

The team went their separate ways, but Matt and Lindsay texted back and forth. They could just meet up and have a drink, he suggested. That’s exactly what they did, sharing a couple of drinks together in downtown Denver at a place called Machete. 

There at the Lucha Libre-themed taco and tequila restaurant, Matt found himself wrestling with his emotions. “I was hooked,” he says. His heart was involved. But there was an obstacle. 

Lindsay made it clear to Matt that she was not looking for a relationship. Nothing romantic, no dating, they could just “hang out.” Love was not on the menu! 

Matt was cool, courageous and committed. Sure, they could just be friends. For starters. They started hanging out. Days and weeks passed, and then Matt ordered off the menu. 

How about a date? She agreed. They went to a Brazilian steakhouse, Fogo de Chao, where the word “indulgent” appears on the menu nearly as much as accent marks over the vowels. 

That first date led to many more. Matt and Lindsay became the best of friends. There was just so much to love about Lindsay, Matt tells us. 

The passion Lindsay has for everything she does comes immediately to Matt’s mind. Also “her sense of humor, and how she puts up with mine,” he laughs. Then he shows serious admiration for Lindsay’s tenacity and strong will that allows her to always find a way to accomplish what she wants. 

Lindsay was strikingly independent, and like Matt, went after what she wanted. She left Lamar, Colorado, the small town where she’d grown up with her mom, stepdad and brother. College took her to Arizona and to Texas. 

Back in Colorado, after those weeks of hanging out as friends, Matt took Lindsay to Atlanta, then to Phoenix. They married, and honeymooned in Hawaii. It didn’t matter where in the world they went, because, as Matt says, “Lindsay is my whole world.” 

Matt and Lindsay are so happy to have one another, and a very special addition. Their son, Declan, soon to be three years old, adds even more color and life to their world. 

Mersedah, a close friend of the family, says Lindsay Leddy is a “Role Model Mom.” Declan is her priority, she observes, and when Lindsay talks about her son, her smile lights up the entire room. She beams with pride for every one of his accomplishments, and she hurts with every scrape and bruise he gets. 

To hear Mersedah talk, Lindsay is also “Role Model Friend.” She’s a great listener and advocate. When Mersedeh wants advice, she can count on Lindsay to give her sound counsel that is also honest and straightforward. “She doesn’t just tell you what you want to hear.”

Both friend Mersedah and husband Matt can attest to the length that Lindsay will go to for the ones she loves. If there is a need, any need at all, she is a friend indeed!

Mersedah admires Lindsay’s fierce loyalty and love for husband Matt. “She is the wife no one should mess with!” She hears Lindsay rave about the loving husband and father Matt is, saying, “I really picked a great one!”

“She’s head over heels for Matt, and it’s so cute how she’s always gushing about him at work,” added close friend Dana. “They are texting buddies 24/7, and she can’t get enough of him.”

Declan’s laugh testifies to his mom’s amazing sense of humor. She loves him fiercely. Despite the demands of running her own business, Lindsay prioritizes time for activities with Declan, and trips to the park, the zoo, and the aquarium.

Then there’s Lindsay’s limitless patience, her uncanny ability to multitask, and her relentless drive to grow and improve. There is so much about her to love, and her family and friends agree. 

Interestingly, while Matt describes Lindsay as a phenomenal cook, Mersedah tells us that Lindsay raves about Matt’s cooking skills. What conclusion does that lead us to? This: It doesn’t matter who is in the kitchen, true love is always on the menu.