One Year

What's a year? It's nothing at all. Not even a blink of the universe's eye, barely a flutter of its eyelashes. This show is infinite. In a truly never-ending spectacle of distance and time, how could we have the audacity to think that one year of our tiny earthly home is worth anything at all? Our own planet will not remember us forever. Our own tiny waterlogged stamping ground, who's largest leap has so far only taken us to the planet next door. There are entire galaxies undiscovered, why do we think surviving one rotation of our greenish blue planet around one small star is in any way spectacular?

There are several billion people living out their lives here every day. Sorrows they feel we may never come close to, certain happinesses will never be ours. Even their triumphs could never be matched by us. The longest-living couple have been together 87 years, did you know that? So just one of those little years together, how dare we think it's special at all?

I'll tell you why. This is our infinite we're living. This relationship has outlived whole lifetimes of some creatures, it's all relative. In reality, someone else's triumphs don't make yours any less great, and we can't  go around not feeling as proud of what we've achieved in order to congratulate others. Luckily, happiness isn't limited in this world, and there's no reason we should feel less content than a couple celebrating 100 years together in the future.

We've gone through four seasons, a handful of arguments, a thousand kisses, a cluster of frisbee tournaments, too many lengthy separations... and come out the other side. I'm all for holding myself to unrealistic standards, and this aspect of my life is not one of them. One year's an achievement, and one I've not experienced before. I enjoy your ongoing film education of me, I enjoy cooking with you, I enjoy hotly disputed frisbee tactics on-pitch, and the promises and that it was nothing personal once we're calm and off-pitch. I enjoy your little eccentricities, and travelling with you. How safe, how happy, how comfortable I am with every aspect of being with you; it would be impossible to deny that this is something I've got right.

Level up: Round 2...