I am glad that my past self came up with this monthly ritual because as creatures of comfort we are too ingrained in our daily mundane routines to do something out of the ordinary. we can be together in the same house for 24 hours and yet it doesn’t mean we spend quality time with each other. she’s usually tied up with her creative projects and i’m tied up with my moping. but once a month we set aside everything including our own personal quirks to focus our full attention on each other. i feel like this nourishes our relationship deeply. I’m always fretting about the past and the future, yet today i am reminded it is just so wonderful to be with someone i truly love, that we are both alive in the same moment, that for now our environment and circumstances are both safe enough for us to love. how fragile is life, love and the universe – how precious it is to possess something so intangible and yet so concrete, and how rare it is for both of us to be deeply aware of our existential reality, that we actually take this monthly celebration seriously. i am so lucky to be able to love and be loved for these 109 months.