Folded Napkin

Happy 5 Year Anniversary Juliet! Today marks another notch on a societal calendar reminding us that we should celebrate. As if we need any reminders to do what comes so naturally to us. Since the day you sat across from me, in the now defunct “Gravitas” restaurant in Houston, we have celebrated yearly, monthly, and often daily ceremonies of love and experience.

In so many ways I think you were born to celebrate. In no way is this more beautifully illustrated than the large kitchen drawer, in our new apartment, filled with perfectly folded decorative napkins. No matter how small the place we have called home since leaving Houston 3 years ago, we have had a devoted space for gorgeous table linens, fine place settings, and exceptional service-ware. This is no accident. This is the life we have chosen, shaped, and mostly you, have designed.

These folded napkins are the visible outreach of your attention to the details of the heart. Few can see your ability on display, healing the broken hearts of your patients and their families. Few could know the intricacy of our creative life, and the commitment you have to me, and my challenging career pursuits. What people can see is, your radiant smile, your abundance of colorful scarves (mentioned in a prior anniversary letter), and the intricate folds of your beloved serviette(s).

By default, your creativity is crowded in your profession, so your passion is channeled in textiles, flowers, and paint colors. Your vision for our future includes even more color, more detail, and more intricacy than I can easily comprehend. I have grown to love our napkins, and not only because they represent an impending meal. I love them because I see your hands in every careful bend in their fabric. I know when they are out, that our simple weeknight repasts are elevated. More and more often I crave our time cooking, sharing, and our beloved Beethoven.

As people, I think it is essential that our grasp of our spouses must grow, equal to our wish to better ourselves. To me, the more I know about you, the better I have become. I like to believe I know some of the things that bring you joy, and I often try to avoid more of the ones that bring you pain. I miss the mark certainly, but my intention to do it right continues to grow.

We celebrate 5 years tonight with a meal, great wine, and just us, alone in a new home we are growing to love. However, we understand our celebration is not limited to the specifics of time and place, it is continual. For we have celebrated for years in our home, together. We will not measure the success of our marriage in years, countries visited, or professional accomplishments achieved together. We can measure the success of us, by pretty little pieces of cloth, folded with precision, displayed with love, and frequently shared.

Thank you Juliet for being you, unwavering in your design, and your desire to design our lives. I love you so much more than I knew I was capable of loving.

Michael