In just a few hours my wife, Dimalshi Francisca Heid, will turn 29. By no means a momentous birthday but I think this one has special meaning for her. While she has been the recipient of some extravagant luxuries, I still want to be able to get her the perfect gift and I think this might be it...
By my estimation it has been about 6 months since I have posted and i largely have not had a reason or felt so moved that I was compelled to create a post. But tonight is a bit different. Tonight is about you, Di. It was on this day 3 years ago that we confessed our love for one another in front of family. No small feat but largely not too earth shattering as we had been married for 18 months at that point. I remember where we were in life and it was 3 short years ago. Let me take a moment to remind you. We were living in Larpenter in an apartment that we both miss to some extent. It was just you and I. You still worked at Affinity and I was low man on the totem pole at the U.S. Bank Southdale branch. Tonight, 3 years later, you work for the same company and are very well respected there. You assist everyone, including me, in getting their work done and you make people look good. Sure, there are details to how you accomplish that but largely that is the gist of it. I am a manager now and successful in my own right. I place a lot of that on you. oh and one more thing, we are responsible for 2 other beings right now, perhaps the biggest change of those care free days when it was just us. Thank you for building a family with me and picking me up when I was done. Thank you for being you. Not everyone knows this and I only share glimpses with a few people. I try not to post too many real details for fear that someone will catch wind and I will alienate someone with something I said the derived from pure emotion. That notwithstanding I will be real here. When you and I left for California you did not have a job. I had just finished mine but during most of that year you worked for gift cards. You contributed as much as you could but I think I took care of you. I gave you a place to live even before we were married and we started our adventure of building a life. It is a man's job to take care of his wife so I never lamented it or thought it was unfair. Then California happened. We came back here and you got a job. A good one at that. A career. You were off. I stocked shelves inside Walmarts and Cubs with Cheeze-its. I brought home next to nothing while you were making a wage for both of us. You picked the place we lived in because I felt I had no right. You called most the shots with the money. I was embarrassed and never felt comfortable in that role. Now through many transitions I have a pretty good job, make good money, and I get to take care of my family again. It makes me feel whole. But I must tell you, that tough time made me realize (yes even after we were married) that I was going to spend the rest of my life with you. And that no matter what happened to either of us, we would get through it together. I have always been the rock and been the one other people can lean on. I won't lie, I needed you at that time and you delivered marvelously. You never made me feel like I was less than you because I made less money or worked less. You encouraged me and helped me. You spent 8-10 hours a day at work to provide for us and come home to me knowing I had not worked a single minute somedays. But did you nag or get on my case, no. You helped me and provided insight and ideas even after tough days. And while this is long overdue, I truly want to thank you for that. While I much prefer where we are now-both of us making a liveable wage and being challenged by our work, it is so comforting to know that if I need to make a change or something happens, you can be my rock. I am sorry that, up until this point, I never shared with you how much that meant to me. Perhaps I did not want to show weakness but as you have been vulnerable and weak in front of me in times past, it would seem only right. So today you are 29 and what have you accomplished? Let me put it in terms you are familiar and comfortable with, a list! -got married (to one hell of a man I might add...) -bought a rental property (remember all the "you are so young" comments) -got a dog (and named it after a fallen friend of my sister who I know it meant more to than she will ever admit) -had a kid (Alera is the best and you were so strong in the hospital) -bought a 2nd house (because you could) None of these things happened because you are rich or because you are uniquely blessed. They happened because you MADE them happen. And you should be proud. As we embark on our new family home (in rich people Woodbury of all places) I know I am proud of your accomplishments. There is so much more that I want to say and so much more emotion I wish I could pour into this but I need to keep it short. Have to keep up the energy to get into that house after all! But I will suffice to say this, before 30 you have accomplished so much that most people would be proud of. A lot of people are jealous of you but you should never let that phase you. You deserve all that you have because of who you are. You planned and schemed and skrimped and saved. You were a wife, a mother, a friend, and owner, a lover, and always a miser. I love that about you though. So now that you are 29 I know you have your sights set on 30 and wondering what that will hold. I know you are going to meet that number with a bit of hesitancy and caution as it is a significant marker in a person's life. Yes it's and arbitrary checkpoint but nevertheless it holds significance for us. I hope you take stock, as I did, and instead of lamenting all you have not done, look at all that you have. You are fantastic and you are the best person I know. I am insanely lucky because, as I have told you many times before, you are the best partner I could ever hope to have. It just happens to be really lucky for me that I am insanely attracted to you and love you with all my being. In summary, sorry if there are times I do not show that I love you because I I love you all the time. I am in awe of you and you make me aspire to be better everyday. I want to impress you, I want to show off in front of you, I want to show you off to other people. You elevate me and those around you and I know you will do so for many years to come. Thank you for being a part of my life and thank you for being the best at all the roles you fill. I hope you have a happy birthday! I love you with all my being. -Mitch |
AuthorsI live my life in a series of perpetual moments. That is what life is, an assortment of moments. I try to look for them, live in them, and then look for the next one. Sometimes I speak too soon and ruin moments. But then again, I suppose that just makes it a different kind of moment. Archives
December 2018
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