Year 4: Places in our heart

Eiffel Tower

Textbook romantic hit

High places

Tears shed at its peak

Prinsengracht 

The never ending street

Solemn house

Near my ancestral home

Venezia

Floating high, sinking city

Nona's room

German tennis channel

Benidorm

New friends and love affirmed

Clear water

Loose Brits, sacred centre

Hospitals

Endless white halls, bright lights

Piss and tears

Moaning, it eats you whole

Gold Coast

We never quite fit in

Glitter strip

City of sun, no soul

Home

Always knew it was here

Together

In the heart of Melbourne

Ten

One was the hardest 

I was not a great person

I did not deserve you

Two was the longest 

You knew where you were going

I sat still, playing Fire Emblem on your toilet 

Three had me threatened   

Thought I'd lose you to the Glitter Strip

You told me to get over it and get on the train 

Four was when I knew for sure 

Fridays meant everything

Reunited and it felt so good

Five and we were under the same roof 

We recruited Big Boss

I put a ring on it [cue Beyoncé bass hook]

Six had me preparing for seven 

I scrimped and saved

We had beautiful hair

Seven was the sweetest

I kissed you on the golf course

Nothing existed but us

 

Eight and you gave me courage

You gave me belief

You gave me mischief and its God

Nine was when we worked our fingers to the bone 

We saw less of each other

Realised money can't buy happiness

Ten saw our dreams come true

While my foundations crumbled

You gave me strength

Anniversary 3: The Year That Disappeared

Dearest Carly Pie
This year kind of slipped away
So very busy

Under much pressure
We grow closer and our hair
Shorter by the day

Own the pixie cut
Become one with Tinkerbell
Let us share hair gel

Let's always make time
To share in our pyjamas
Watch Law & Order

I love you more now
Than I did this exact day
Three short years ago

Anniversary 2: The Sequel

Can you believe that this is only our second Wedding Anniversary, Carly?

I can't. I feel like -- in the best possible way -- we've been together for the longest time (cue Billy Joel). I can't imagine doing most anything (except maybe going to work, even then it's a stretch) if it's without you.  

Yes, we're diving head-first into an ocean of cliches now. You've been warned. You can stop here with the takeaway being that "I love you and I'm happy growing old with you," if you wish. Things get sickly sweet below this photo.

It's hard trying to describe how our relationship works, but it does and effortlessly so. There's no drama, no clashing, no stress. You're my respite. You protect me from the craziness of the outside world with your adorable range of mannerisms and always-open arms. I don't just feel comfortable in your presence though:
I feel accomplished, I feel challenged. Hey, I did it!

This year has gone so fast, and you've been the only constant I could hope to depend on. Loved ones have gone to live their own lives, and more and more I find myself looking to you as my sole support. I'm not going to say something like "You're my rock," because rocks don't giggle, aren't scared (to the point of hysteria) of spiders, and can't actively listen to me while I'm pouring my heart out. What I will say is that I trust you and love you more than any person or rock mass on this planet: be it igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic.

2012 has been interesting. We've both enjoyed continued success and, while the amount of time we get to spend with each other has tightened, we're getting what we want from life. We've even expanded our ranks, recruiting a comic foil for our golden boy, Boss. Loki's been a little slow to pick up the basics -- the front room has developed its own unique musk -- but it's hard to imagine life around the house without his contagious smile. We may not have been able to follow through with all of our dreams, but we'll save up and try again soon. We'll migrate south one of these days... I know it!

I'll leave you with a request: Can we please not watch the Wedding video this year? I've been through job interviews, experienced various other triumphs and tragedies this year, and nothing has managed to make me feel as anxious as watching our nuptials for the first time.

It's amazing how sharp those memories still are, and the sensations that came with watching that footage. Whether it was the awkward jokes I made when greeting guests, remembering (and re-experiencing) the tightness in my chest as I awaited your arrival, or the tears I held back during my speech at the reception: it's all still so clear in my mind. I can even remember breaking my toenail the night before when playing Mega Chess with Sam Phillips. It's not that I want my recollection to fade, it's just that I still look back at the day as the most important day in my life. All the expectation, nervous energy and emotion that I felt on that day is still very much alive in me. I can't expect that it would dissipate for any great passage of time either.

Thank you for your continued love and support, and I can't adequately express how much you mean to me. Happy Anniversary, Carls.

All my love, words and feels,

Trittles

To my wife (to my muse, to my editor, to my best friend) on our Anniversary

Dear Carly,  

This day last year was the best day of my life. The intermittently-rainy day when we were married in front of our family and friends will always be ingrained in memory. I was a bit nervous when you didn’t proceed down the aisle at the advertised start time, but I knew you wouldn’t keep me waiting too long.

I’ll never forget the relief; the large lump that I swallowed when I saw you at the door. You looked beautiful, and a little bit more bronzed than you did earlier in the week. I can remember my smile: unrelenting, unwavering. I could feel nothing – not even the broken toenail that I’d smashed in a game of drunken mega chess the previous evening – but happiness. 

I can remember our first dance as a married couple. My word, did that get silly quickly. As I swung you around in circles, I can remember thinking "Please don't trip over. PLEASE don't trip over." I still don't know if I was thinking about me or you, but it's a miracle that no one was hurt or embarrassed.  It did set a good tone for the evening ahead though, and I'd do it again.

I’ll never forget the lazy, cold nights we spent in Dayslesford or Melbourne either. The seemingly-endless run of visits to Minotaur, Myer and Chocolate Buddha hinted at the beginnings of a perfect union. You never tired of my routine (food-comics-food-comics-cider-comics-food), if anything you seemed to enjoy it. 

The return home wasn’t easy. Don’t get me wrong: I know we couldn’t have sustained a year of binging in our favourite city, but it would have been nice. Am I right? I was still unhappy at work – my unfulfilling occupation demanded even more of my time – but I knew I could return to you and bask in the novelty of calling you “my wife.” Throughout all of the challenges that we've faced this year, that was one thing I could always do if I was feeling down.  

You still support me, even in spite - or possibly because - of my non-committal responses to life's big challenges. Mortgage? "I'd rather travel." Kids? "Do dogs count as kids?" Car? "I can't even drive." Job? "Actually, my wife (teehee) is the breadwinner." Even when I did try and venture from my comfort zone, you stood with me (or at least dropped me off at the train station). 

Not that 2011 has been all doom and gloom, mind you. We both ventured into a foreign land for the first time and had an absolute ball of a time indulging in cheap whiskey, cheaper (most of the time) food, and more shopping than could normally be recommended for a couple considering the purchase of a house. Back on home soil, we also had many breakfast/lunch/dinner dates with generous helpings of coffee/alcohol (depending on the time of the day). My favourite nights, however, involved lounging around on the couch watching Japanese game shows alone with you (I triple dare anyone to find a more compelling game show than Ninja Warrior).   

One year on , and I'm still as in love (if not more) with you than I was as I waited for you at the makeshift altar; wearing clothes that I'd only sourced the day before, hands fidgeting, wondering what the future would hold (read: when would you appear). I'm so glad we decided to conform to the social norm that is marriage. My life has been all the better for it. 

Still never been happier than I was in this picture.

Here's to a hundred more years together. If there are to be any more than that, Science will finally have delivered the invincibility, super strength and adamantium claws that I've always wanted. 

I love you. 

Regards,

Tristan

For Science!