Today is our 12th wedding anniversary, something that has persuaded me that miracles happen and that true love is eternal. My passion for Maria will live on in one way or another forever.

We have a quiet day ahead of us.

We are not much into the dates of things, but we are plotting a short trek to an ice cream stand where they sell lobster rolls at exorbitant prices—the best we can do today as I continue to heal from my mysterious viral attack.

As a writer for almost all of my life, I  have run out of words to describe my love for Maria and my gratitude for our finding one another. We have helped each other find ourselves, live the lives we want and deserve, and heal some of the traumas and wounds we shared. We support one another at every turn and listen and love.

We were like two pieces of a raggedy jigsaw puzzle that just came together. We are very different; we are very much alike. We work every day of our married lives to learn how to love each other, talk to each other, and support each other. We worship the creative spark and never let it flicker.

I never imagined such a thing possible. I met Maria when I was 59 or 60 years old and knew this was special. I have never been able to talk to anyone the way I could speak to her, and I have never been loved by anyone as purely and compassionately as Maria has loved me.

If there is a God, he forgave me for my many sins and mistakes and gave me another chance. I won’t blow it.

I make the same promise to myself on every anniversary. Every morning, I ask myself how I can love her better and support her more; I promise never to take this love for granted or do anything to hurt, undermine, or harm her. I don’t always succeed, but I never stop trying.

Maria is the best person I have ever known; honest, caring, creative, and kind.

She is nothing but honest, without guile or malice. She suffered more than any child should have to suffer; she emerged whole, a fiercely independent angel, unlike any other. And full of love for all living things, plants, animals, humans, spiders, and bugs.

This love saved me and my life and helped give me the life I wanted. And more than ever, it still does, every single day. We are not saints. We have our issues and irritations, but I love this woman twice as much as I did when we got married, and I loved her a great deal then.

If I dropped dead tomorrow, which I have no plans to do, I would go at peace, knowing I found and experienced the most precious thing one human being can ever give another. Real love is always about the other, not the self, it is the gift that never stops giving and that lives forever.