What is Love if Not a Reason to be the Best Version of Yourself?

The majority of my days are just normal...routine. Snooze the alarm 3 times, get to work 5 minutes late, scarf down lunch while simultaneously responding to emails, honk the horn a few times at people who cut me off on my way home...ya know. The usual stuff. There are occasional doctor appointments, sometimes I spend an evening doing laundry and sometimes I come home and collapse into a pile of exhaustion on my pillow...usually on a Thursday. My weekends, especially during the Summer, are filled with events away from home, keeping me up late at night, and often include beer and friends. I live for the weekends.

Lately, though...the routine, the normal, the day to day...it's all starting to seem a lot less boring. It's all still very average in terms of "life events" or "the things you have to do." Yes, everyone has to work to make money to pay bills and eat dinner. But too many people are completely miserable in doing so. Too many people go through the motions every single day, and forget to allow spontanaeity into their lives. Routine is good on a lot of levels. But if routine is all you have and each day is the same as the one before it and the one that follows...everything is sure to become mundane and meaningless. Where's the good in that?

So how is it that my normal, routine days aren't so boring to me? I've found a very real inspiration. A silent motivator, a strong supporter, a second opinion, a reason to think and re-think everything I do...including the routine things. I've found a best friend to do life with who makes me want to be better, without even meaning to.

When it's just you, your same thoughts, your same point of view...you can really get set in your ways. But when someone comes along who challenges your thoughts, your mind, your intentions and goals - all of a sudden you are looking at everything in a new light. I've got someone in my life who loves me for me, and everything I stand for. And that, in itself, is enough to make me take a second look at who I am as a person and what exactly it is that I stand for. Can I give him an even better person to love? Because he surely deserves the best.

I say this with every ounce of honesty my body contains...I have never once felt that he has ever wanted to change a single thing about me. I'm not looking at myself and my life in a new light because he has ever brought a flaw to my attention or spoken down to me about any single aspect of my being. Actually, I think it's just the opposite. For once in my life, I feel so safe and cared for and un-judged. I feel loved for who I am. And it makes me think...who am I really? Here is this person, who loves me so much. Here he is, with his ever-so-delicate forehead kisses that mean the world to me. Here's this man, who opened up to me and showed me his world and his mind. He's shared with me his goals, his wants in life, his regrets and his accomplishments. He is beautiful and exciting and funny. There is something about sharing a meal at a nice restaurant with two plates full of crab legs on your candle-lit table...and there sit the two of you, trying to wipe tears from your eyes because you are both laughing so hard that you can't even breath. Call it rude, but we were in the moment, completely consumed in our own little world, thoroughly enjoying each other's company. And if you can't give in to a moment like that, then how are you supposed to enjoy life?

I can go on and on about all our moments that have really made a mark on my heart. There are many...because he gets me and he's thoughtful and he's real. And I consider how highly I think of him...and that's what makes me strive to be the best version of myself. There are days that I'm moody...and that has ALWAYS been the case. But what do my moody days add to life? Surely nothing positive. So why be moody? I can just change my mindset, put a smile on and focus on different viewpoints..to be better company, to make the day worth while, to make it memorable in some way. There are days where I'm impatient and, unfortunately, he endures the sharp edges of my snappy attitude. Its not his fault that things didn't go the way I envisioned them. And even so, what does it matter if B came before A? Did it ruin my life? Will I make it to see tomorrow? Then why sweat it? These are the things I've started to look at when considering my day to day. These are some the areas where I want to be better...for the sake of life happiness in general, and for the sake of this caring man and the fact that he doesn't deserve to have to suffer through my short comings.

And so, with a new set of eyes and a greater appreciation for my life and the fact that I get to share all these moments with such an incredible man...I continue on with my routines. Except, they aren't so routine anymore. Because I am looking for ways to make them better, more exciting, less stressful, more meaningful and always...more purposeful.

Because there is a reason I found such a true, honest love and I'll be damned if I ever let it become "just one of my routines."

Here's to finding purpose in all that you do. Here's to holding on to love and allowing it to bring excitement to your life. And here's to building a better you....both for yourself and for those who love you.

I love you, Anthony.