For this year's installment of this yearly letter, I can say with all certainty, I hope this is the last time we go through a global pandemic. I re-read my message from last year and wow what a forecast of things. I had said no matter how much we loved to travel that spending time together was the only thing that really mattered. And boy, have we gotten to test that theory! Beginning last fall, we received the first in a series of challenging life events that forced us to spend many hours working diligently to solve problems we could not have anticipated.

I remember in December that I felt like I had really gotten to know you in a way that I had not known was possible. We worked for many hours at our dining table and eschewed the trappings of good times, and social life for the effort we had to make to prove what we do is, in fact, legitimate in the eyes of a public entity. We have continued to answer the bell as each time we thought we could be confident in who we are, we were again knocked down.

Now, we are under attack by another virulent pathogen, and while this one can also lead to financial ruin, it happens to kill with high efficiency. So, we are hunkered down, like so many others on planet earth. We are vigilant and will battle with all that we have. You see, Juliet, what we have learned in this past year is that we are not only wired to manage the good times. Not only are we built for the moments of discovery that we intentionally seek, but we are also adaptable to handle the findings we never asked for. 

Over our first ten years together, I learned that I had met the perfect travel companion for the remainder of my days. What I did not know was that I had also married one of the toughest people I have ever met. All of this adversity has pushed me to the brink of emotional collapse, on numerous occasions. You have been the steadying factor for me in all of this. Yes, you might need me to stand on the frontline and go toe-to-toe with those that oppose us. However, what these opponents cannot see is that you are standing behind me at forty-five degrees with your legs against solid rock and your arms propping up my billboard of a frame. My specter is only an illusion. But if these fools could see the woman holding this whole thing together, they would be struck with fear and would turn and run for the hills. Because I am all noise and theater. You stand over the beds of dying children and will them back to health. Your constitution in the face of grave odds would give Victor Frankl a moment of pause. 

I do not have much in the way of romance nor playful words that elicit the whimsical stage that we have set for so many years. I only have real and heartfelt gratitude, and thanks to God almighty that you are my wife. 

I am becoming a more fully capable person because of your leadership. I am finding strength in the instincts of a husband. My work has been eviscerated by Covid-19, so my job has become, and I accept it wholeheartedly, to be your protector, your driver, your cook, and your errand guy. Because you are taking care of the most vulnerable patients on earth and taking care of us in the process. Who can do that but a super being? Who can endure so much and then take a breath and put herself out there for whatever nastiness comes next? You do it every day. I am a silly, sensitive, and self-absorbed artist. For some reason that works for you. But I am the one married to the brilliant creative mind here. I see what you have to overcome just to get home each day. And then you smile when you see me. I know what you have seen. I know what we have had to conquer together this year. I know that the combination of these things would sink me, and I would flee (as if anyone would take me right now) to Italy and live on remote islands as an itinerant photographer. But you make it look easy. And only the great ones can do that. That means I married one of the great ones. What other thing do I need to accomplish in this life?

But because of you and your unbelievable strength and love for us, I summon up my own guts and give back all that I have in me for the very same reasons you do. Because the greatest of these is love. 

I will leave you with a little Glen. He has been with us every step of the way on this mad journey. And I will be with you for all the rest of them.

I will love you now and for always.

Happy Anniversary Juliet!

Michael

The Song of Good Hope

Glen Hansard

If we're gonna make it

'Cross this river alive

We need to think like a boat

And go with the tide

And I know where you've been

It's really left you in doubt

Of ever finding a harbor

Of figuring this out

And you're gonna need

All the help you can get

So lift up your arms now

And reach for it

And reach for it

And take your time babe

It's not as bad as it seems, you'll be fine babe

It's just some rivers and streams in between

You and where you wanna be

And watch the signs now

You'll know what they mean, you'll be fine now

Just stay close to me and make good hope

Walk with you through everything