January 19, 2018

My dearest,

Do you know how the first three years of marriage is like the blessed trinity of superheroes – Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman?

In the first year, newlyweds are in their honeymoon phase, when the lunar orb seems to wax endlessly. This is a fresh honeymoon, different from when they start dating. Everything seems so hopeful and possible. There is strength in believing the light, the way Superman is Apollo is Helios is Ra is Baldr.

In the second year, the real world creeps in. The young couple must now defend their love and their happiness against the draining forces of employment (and unemployment), of inflation and taxes, of sickness and ill health. They must protect what they have relentlessly, like Batman, with wit and cunning and pure grit.

In the third year, the lovebirds know the truth about what marriage is. Marriage is a bed of roses and of thorns, too. Marriage is all the sweeter for pulling thorns from each other’s flesh as it is made sweet by the sweet scent of the petals. Marriage is about seeing each other for who the other is, warts, farts and wrinkles. And loving each other all the more, not in spite of but because of these flaws – these beautiful flaws. The third year, they say, has Wonder Woman as its patron saint for she shows us who we really are and how wonderful that is.

Of course, you know me best. You know they don’t really say this. You know I made it all up. But you don’t mind. You like how I believe the light, how I protect us relentlessly, how I see our flaws as beauty and wonder.

You are my light, my protection, my beautiful wonder.

Yours, ever and always.