uncle sugar...

i wrote this two years ago for my husband's birthday. since then, we've lived about three lifetimes. more than one of those lifetimes would probably have been better suited for someone who doesn't close her eyes for the majority of scary movies.

pat always tells me when it's safe to look. i think i like that about him. way more than when he advises me to begin all of my idea bubbles with "when we win the lottery..."

evidently, my ideas make more sense then.

anyway. i'm completely unsure of a lot of things. i am. i just am. but no matter what, no matter when, no matter how, i'd bet the house on that boy of mine.

my girlies three have enough love in their little lives to fill an entire blog and a bucket or two, but there will come a day when it won't be enough. which is exactly when they'll begin their searches for more. and when that day comes, i'd love for mine to remember what true love looked like to me...

when your true love walks into your view, you'll know it. he'll be hauling the sun and the moon and all the stars in the sky and a rainbow or two along with him.

and you'll never tire of the spectacle.

your true love will laugh at all the jokes you whisper in his ear. then he'll add a bit of his naughtiness and retell your joke to the room. loudly. and when everyone laughs and tells him how funny he is, he will look at you sheepishly and say the joke was really yours all along. because you're much funnier. which may not be true, but it will be nice that he believes it.

your true love should have a big brain. one that remembers historical events, like when the conflict of 1958 occurred. scientific processes, like the phone. how does it work? and important anniversaries. especially if your brain only remembers pretty things, like love and flowers and we-eloped-on-a-wednesday. this big brain shouldn't make him boring or stuffy or intimidating, though. it should just make him more interested.

your true love may view the world in black and white. right and wrong. yes or no. and that is perfectly fine. as long as he's open to gray and mistakes and maybe.

when your true love sees injustice, his anger should fill all the stand-by-and-do-nothing silences. with really creative expletives. he'll do whatever he can to make it right, or pay someone else to do it. and then? when he talks to you about all the wrong - his and theirs and ours - his heart will probably overflow from his eyes. because the world is worth his tears.

when you ask your true love if he believes in heaven, he should answer yes. without a doubt. but how do you know? you'll ask. i just know, he'll say. and then you will, too.

your true love should have the strongest will of anyone you've ever met. and when he wants to make a change, it will be simple. he just will. because his will is one of his superpowers. but when he does not wish to make a change, it will be simple. he just won't. because his won't is his kryptonite..

your true love might be too much sometimes. too much cubans. too much amber liquid that's hundreds and hundreds of years old. too much words that begin with the letter f. but he is mostly nearly never too much. not for you.

your true love may not be a picnic every day. he may be naughty. maddeningly, heart-breakingly, deliciously naughty. and, really, no one needs a picnic every day. because then it's no longer a picnic. it's lunch.

your true love will probably give the children i'm dreaming of for you most of their naughtiest qualities. like aggro. stubbornness. fightiness. and his too-much-iness. but that's not entirely true. because he will also be the one to show them to lean into life, hold tight to their values no matter how strong the pull, commit, fight to the end for what they believe...and cook the perfect risotto.

and whenever your true love leaves you - for the afternoon or for the week or for forever - you will surely know it. he will take with him your sun and your moon and all the stars in the sky and a rainbow or two.

at least...this is what my true love looks like. happy birthday, uncle sugar.

ancient images from ffffound. i'm starting the weekend early, as we've a giant one planned. hope yours is as epic or as tiny as you need it to be...xoxo.