January 18, 2025

My dearest,

We could call it a daily routine. How we rise at the same time every day, more or less, and how we go to bed at night at a regular hour too.

Then there are our rituals in between waking up and falling asleep.

Our morning walks, sweeping the front porch and watering the plants in our garden. Brewing coffee and boiling eggs, and making bowls of overnight oats, Greek yoghurt, muesli and blueberries. You add peanut butter to yours; I add protein powder.

Routines and rituals. A regular rhythm.

Journalling and playing games. Heading out to get groceries and to buy chicken rice for lunch afterwards. Gym time: treadmill and weight training. Reheating the soup with freshly washed vegetables, adding natto and kimchi to the rice (only mine, of course).

Structure and order. Rinse and repeat.

The sun withdraws. Time to water the plants again, or to sow some seeds or repot some flowers. Prepare dinner. Fruit or a square of dark chocolate after all the dishes have been washed. Walk out to throw the rubbish. Draw the curtains close and the blinds down.

Time to head upstairs, shower, rest, read, go to bed. Tomorrow we will do this all over again.

These are the patterns of our life together. They might not be the most exciting but they sustain us, help us grow as a couple. They are the days and the months and the years. They are our century of love.

Yours, ever and always.