March 31, 2023

My dearest,

This I know to be true.
We have been together fifteen years now. Through good and bad. In sickness and in health. Even before we exchanged wedding vows. We decided “I do” before we said our “I do”s. And it has been the best decision ever.

This I know to be true.
We have a good life. Not a perfect one, but perfect lives don’t exist and if they did, they must be dreadfully boring or unbearable. Certainly not interesting. For you keep it interesting, you always do. I never know what is next, only that we shall find out together. (We always do.)

This I know to be true.
We can’t expect a stasis – an unchanging state – where we understand each other completely without saying a thing, where we never make mistakes, where we never need to apologise. That is a myth, a fallacy. We don’t always need to speak, however; we have been together long enough that our silence speaks volumes. Our quietness is a comfort, a tender endearment.

This I know to be true.
Marriage is no certain thing. No relationship is, paper certificate or no. But what is marriage if not surrendering to the certainty of uncertainty? We commit to waiting and to discovering newer and deeper ways to love the same person for the rest of your lives.

This we know to be true.
That it has always been me and you. Yes, fifteen years is a finite time. Yet our time together feels timeless. As though we have been together forever – because we have been. Fifteen years of our days and our months suffused with love and laughter, of us holding tight to each other through our fears and our tears. Forever is where we are today and forever is where we will be tomorrow, and tomorrow after tomorrow.

This week has always been.
How we remember and how we celebrate. That first time we met. And our blessed life since. A good life, husband and husband. The more we live, the more we learn. The deeper we love, the more we remain in love.

Thank you for loving me and for allowing me to love you in return.

Yours, ever and always.