Letters for
another day.
Sam, I wrote these for the days after the wrapping paper is gone. Open whichever one feels right today. They’re yours to come back to whenever you want to hear from me.
When you’ve had a hard dayOpen your letterFold your letter away
Come sit beside me.
Beautiful, I wish I knew exactly what happened today so I could write the words you need most. Since I don’t, let me start with something I want you to hear on any hard day: I love you, and you don’t have to find a cheerful version of yourself before you come to me.
You can tell me everything. You can tell me the same part twice because it’s still bothering you. You can also sit beside me without explaining anything yet. I want to make room for whatever kind of company you need.
I won’t always know the right thing to say. Sometimes I might start trying to solve something when you just want me to listen. You can tell me that, too. I want to keep learning how to be there for you.
I love our adventures and the days we want pictures of. I love you on the days you’d rather forget, too. Being your husband means I get to share the ordinary evenings when all we manage is coming home, finding something to eat, and sitting down together. Those evenings matter to me.
If you’re reading this near me, come find me. If we’re apart, tell me you opened this one. We can talk, or we can save the talking for later. I’m looking forward to having you beside me.
For now, take a breath, Beautiful. You are so loved by me.
With all my love,
Sebastian
When you need to hear how much I love youOpen your letterFold your letter away
Let me tell you again.
Sam, I love you. I know those are familiar words from me, but I hope they never become words you have to guess at. So here I am, saying them again, with a little more room to explain.
I love knowing that something can happen during my day and you’re the person I want to tell. I love finding something you might enjoy and getting excited about showing you. After all these years, I still want to make you laugh. I still want to get a gift right. I still care about that moment when I can see that something means something to you.
I love the world we’ve made together: our music, our games, our home with Apollo and Athena, and all the references that take almost no explanation between us. I love that a song can bring us back to a boat in Cleveland, and that a porch on North Harmony can hold the beginning of everything we have now.
When I made your magazine, I got to spend months looking closely at our life. You kept showing up in the memories I wanted to keep. I would finish one page and think of something else I wanted to include. There was so much of us worth remembering.
I hope you feel wanted by me. I hope you know I enjoy your company, that your happiness matters to me, and that I’m grateful I get to call you my wife. I want to keep showing you those things in ways you can feel.
You can open this as many times as you need, Beautiful. I’ll still mean every word.
With all my love,
Sebastian
When you’re thinking about our futureOpen your letterFold your letter away
I’m looking forward to you.
Beautiful, sometimes I think about how little I knew when I first met you. I knew what you were wearing. I remembered your hair and that warm night. I couldn’t have pictured our private vows at Silver Creek, or the home we’d share, or myself making a whole magazine for you.
That makes me wonder what we’ll look back on someday that we can’t picture yet. Which trip will we keep talking about? What song will attach itself to another memory? What small moment will end up meaning more than we expected?
I’m excited about the things we’ll plan. I’m excited about the things we’ll discover along the way, too. More games to figure out together, more places to explore, more evenings when we decide staying home sounds perfect.
I want to keep getting to know you as we grow. I want to hear about the things that interest you, make room for what matters to you, and keep finding ways for us to enjoy each other. I hope years from now I’m still getting impatient because I have a surprise I can’t wait to give you.
I like imagining our little collection of anniversary issues growing. We could open an old one and remember what our life felt like then—the things we loved, the jokes we made, and the memories we were so glad we saved.
I don’t know what every page ahead of us will hold. I do know I’m looking forward to making more of them with you.
With all my love,
Sebastian
Just because I knew you’d open this oneOpen your letterFold your letter away
Hello, my curious wife.
I had a feeling this envelope would get your attention. You’ve found the letter with no occasion, no instructions, and absolutely no reason to wait before opening it.
Although, if you opened this one first, I would like that noted in the official subscriber record. You saw several very heartfelt options and immediately wanted to know what I was up to over here. Fair enough. You married me.
The truth is, I wanted an excuse to leave you another little note. Apparently making a magazine, a website, and several other letters still didn’t get all of it out of my system.
I love surprising you. I love thinking of something that might make you smile and then getting to watch you find it. There were so many times while making this gift that I wanted to turn my screen toward you and say, “Look at this.” Keeping the surprise to myself took some patience.
So here is your very important message: I think you’re beautiful. I like being around you. I’m glad you’re my wife. And I would very much enjoy it if you came over and kissed me after reading this.
If I’m already sitting beside you, that makes your next step unusually convenient.
With all my love,
Sebastian
No special occasion needed, Beautiful.
Back to my anniversary letter ↗