6 of your birthdays. 6 of mine.

we even met at your birthday party:
no wonder these past few days have been so wrought with emotion.

realizing that this is the first time in 6 years
that we are not spending our birthdays together
missing that part of the relationship
having a home with someone
thinking of all the ways in which we spent those days together
4th of july fireworks from the couch
playing records in the sun
going on road trips
and other stuff
like how broke we were
and how we’d just have each other
and as much as that was the bad
it was also the good
and i miss that
i miss having my friend, my partner
my touch stone
somebody to come home to
thinking about taking Little Bit to the vet
and it made me think about you and Little Bit
& how much you love her
& how you probably would have taken her today
because that’s the kind of relationship you had with her.

this is not a story of regret, for i am too proud of you.
and i am proud of me, too.

and today, on your 38th birthday, Paul,
i want to thank you for our journey together,
for everything that we’ve endured & felt & tried & forsaken,
for everything that we’ve taken away & learned,
forgotten & remembered,
become enraged for, beaten ourselves up over, forgiven.

thank you for our bicycle ride,
for that rubik’s cube, and that one good record, too.

i am so incredibly proud of you.

i love you.

1. says he threw his mom upside down on her head when he was born.
2. makes new cat toys and furniture out of boxes and string and bags and shelves probably every week. he loves our cat more than i know how to describe, really.
3. is an incredibly gifted artist. if you haven’t seen any of it yet, make it a point to do so: it will blow you away.
4. loves to take things apart, but he *also* puts them back together.
5. *loves loves loves* children, and they love him back.
6. never takes the same route home: he consciously challenges his own routines.
7. is a fucking amazing dancer. when you watch him dance, you can see how much music means to him.
8. i bet he’s been to over 90% of all my gigs, since we’ve been together: probably somewhere around 300 or so. and now that i think about it, wow babe, i’m sorry for the times i’ve hassled you to come to a gig with me.
9. says verse-visa.
10. has slid down the stairs, face down on a piece of cardboard, countless times.
11. has pictures of the rugburns to prove it.
12. lets me sleep in the car and gets us home safely at the end of long weekend.
13. cries more than anybody i have ever met.
14. taught me how to cry.
15. taught me how to laugh.
16. is still teaching me how to do both those things.
17. had a nightmare & when i woke him to see if he was ok, he said he most certainly had a nightmare, because he needed cheese.
18. put a button in my car after the fan broke, so i could turn it on manually.
19. loves squished pennies, and dreams of owning his own a penny squishing machine.
20. says i’m silly like my little pony all grown up.
21. is the master of taking self-portraits [see picture in my previous post].
22. is hank. and lassiter. and…
23. refers to the harmony between us as riding on the same bicycle.
24. leaves little notes for me all the time, for example:
25. when i get up, the first thing i’ll grab are my glasses, so there’s one note,
26. and, then, i’ll put on my rings–note #2,
27. and then i’ll get dressed, where i’ll find #3,
28. grab keys, etc. more notes..he’ll do this for my night time ritual, as well.
29. will now probably tell me that my last 5 reasons were cheating ;-)
30. is an incredible kisser.
31. is a most amazing lover.
32. loves blinky lights and lasers and fireworks and discoballs and stickers.
33. is very good at manouvring his way through bureaucracies: banks, insurance companies, bill collectors, landlords. i can’t believe how patient, calm and professional he is. i don’t know how i would manage these situations without him.
34. knows how to let me be me, but also how and when to hold me.
35. has the will-power when i don’t, the strength when i don’t, the optimism when i don’t.
36. is very perceptive, because he is actively introspective. it’s how he can smile so much, and laugh so much: he perseveres through his hardships so gracefully. i mean, look at him!
37. calls me his beautiful beautiful angel girl and this is how i know, every day, that i have a lot to live for.

i love you, baby. happy birthday. sam

i love you.