To Michael

My little slice of love.

My deepest love turns a year older this week. What better time than now to gush about him a little.

There are so many things I could say about how good Michael is. How he is sweet, kind, and gentle, but also protective. I could tell you all the ways he treats me so well and loves me so abundantly. I could write novels about his patience. I could tell you he’s a good dog dad, and that his integrity walks into a room even before he does.

I could tell you how I trust him with my life, my spirit, and my heart. I could, and I have, and I will.

But mostly today, I want you to know how special and ordinary Michael is, all at once. He is a human, like you and I. He has insecurities and quirks. His feet stink at the end of the day, and I think he chews too loudly, almost always.

And still, he’s perfect. Perfectly human and perfectly the right human for me.

What makes him extraordinary isn’t the absence of flaws. It’s the presence of something deeper. The way his love shows up in small, steady ways. The way he is ordinary reminds me that great love isn’t about finding someone flawless. It’s about finding someone real.

My all time favorite picture of Michael. I mean, come on.

I hope everyone reading this today has someone in their life who feels like this.

Someone you love hopelessly and abundantly, in all their messy imperfection.
Someone who calls upon all your grace and endurance, and somehow, in the same breath, reveals a version of you you never imagined you could become.

We all deserve a Michael.
Someone to companion us gently enough that we open into our fullest self.
Someone playful enough to help us complete all those unfinished loops from childhood.
Someone whose body fits yours in a hug, in a snuggle.
Whose kisses soothe every worry.
Whose presence breathes life back into your lungs.

And whose inevitable death will wreck you, or has wrecked you, demolish you, or has demolished you, and who you love so damn much that you don’t know how you’ll go on when they’re gone.
Except that you will, because their love has made you stronger than you knew. Strong enough to survive even that.

Michael was born to love and to be loved. To embody love.
He is love. My own little slice of it in this world.

So, all of this is to say,
Happy Birthday to the person who has invited all of me to show up in the world.

I hope I can do the same for you.

Because the day you were born, God smiled, in full agreement with your perfection.

And so do I.