I was in a t-shirt and leggings,
he in his Fanta t-shirt and boxers.
we used to wait till midnight to kiss,
to declare our vows for the new year–
decades of the same ritual.
This time, we did it at 5:30pm
I’d just woken from a late afternoon nap,
he’d just come home from the gym
How’d this year go?
We learned that a relationship is delicate,
needs to be nurtured and takes work, hard work at times.
Next year, what do you want?
Self love, I said.
To be my best self, he said.
Our new year’s toast was not romantic by Hollywood standards, no.
It was, however, honesty at its best.
At 5:30, December 31st,
the curtain flew up for our Act II
and the unknown never felt stronger,
not because I was promised certainty,
but because I am promised resilience.
