That's Amore

I keep my personal life fairly removed from this blog, mostly out of respect for my loved ones. But today I am going to (cautiously) throw caution to the wind and tell you that being married to the biggest pizza-loving, sci-fi/fantasy-reading, outdoor-loving, mountain-worshiping, feminism-embracing, ultra-calm man is pretty awesome.


We have a wonderful time together and being married is more fun than I ever dreamed! But keep in mind that if your dreams are anything like mine, they perhaps include mild irritants, differences of opinion, and revisions of ideal divisions of labor, in addition to the usual niceties of good dreams. Manski and I do not have a "perfect" relationship, but we love to work at it and between our different views, backgrounds, studies, experiences and gifts, we are a great team. It's hard to believe that we've been together for almost 5 years, but my heart still ticks faster than a watch every time we see each other after school/work. I used to think that I could never be with someone who didn't have the same outward expressions of enthusiasm as me, but I have come to learn that Manski's tendency to under-react to everything is a treasure in many situations. Sure, I can't get him to jump up and down, clap his hands and scream when we score a great batch of carrots or a great song comes on the radio, but when times get tough, that same temperance comes through and soothes any sense of panic or worry I have.


There are lots of things Manski and I do not agree on, but we have very cohesive ideas about what constitutes "the good life" (see: topic of my entire political science degree) and how we want to treat ourselves, each other, our families/friends and environment.


I've overcome a lot in my life, and there are still so many ways in which I strive to better myself (whether out of ego, vanity or altruism) but I will say this - if you have love in your life - be it familial, romantic or platonic, savor it. Swirl it around in your heart like a fine wine and find the comfort and familiarity in its age, warmth, honesty and trust. New friendships can be surprising, old friendships can be disappointing (and vice versa) but as long as you are open to love, love will be open to you. I've worked for the government, worked at my education, worked at being a better athlete and done volunteer work, but the best and most powerful/meaning work I have ever done, has been the work that keeps love alive in my life.