Letters to Loved Ones

Dear Dr. BB,
I wish I had know when we started dating, oh those many years ago, that we would end up married. I would have totally given you a better blog name. Hell, if I'd know I'd still be here doing this so many years later, I might have given myself a better blog name, too.

You know that sometimes you drive me crazy, right? Like how you don't shut up about how I tailgate when I'm driving. See, when you drive, you can leave as much space as you want between you and the car in front of you so that other idiot drivers can cut in front of you, but I like it better to know that I'm in charge of who gets to move over. Also, I'm not particularly fond of the way you consistently beat me at Wii Skateboard Arena when you don't practice. Plus, your allegiance to the Chicago Bears is BEYOND frustrating, but what can you do?

But on the whole, I like you a lot. I think you are hilarious. You are constantly making jokes using puns just to watch me laugh. You refer to the pun as the lowest form of humor, but I know that you think it's funny that I think you're so funny. I also think you're brilliant. You're not just smart, you know. I like to think I'm smart, but you - you are brilliant. Your mind is always working, crafting arguments, and winning battles against the other voices in your head. I would like to spend about 12 hours in your head, preferably the waking hours, to see just what's happening up there and how all the knowledge is crammed up there.

So sometimes, I get a little snappy with you. It's not really your fault. It's mine. I love you. You are my best friend, my favorite person in the world, and the person I want to be around the most. Please bear with me as I learn to be as levelheaded and emotionally stable as you are.

Love,
Your Wife

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Dear Hester,
Last month I thought you were never going to talk to me again. I was irritable and grouchy for too long until I figured out exactly what had gone wrong. It was a misunderstanding, a strange misunderstanding from my point of view, but at times I forget. I forget that sometimes, most of times even, I don't understand you. You and I are so different, so far apart in how we approach our lives, our emotional entanglements, and our dreams, that when something happens, we react in such different ways it astounds me. But, and this is an important but, I can't imagine my life without you in it. While I don't always understand you, I do know that I don't deserve to have the opportunity to try to figure it out. You keep people so far away, even I know only a small fraction of your secrets, that I feel honored to be in the small circle of friends you do keep. I don't know what I've done to earn this honor, but I'm grateful for whatever it may be.

It was warning to me, those two days last month when you cut off contact and I didn't know what was going on. Friendship is only as good as the effort. I'm sorry that sometimes I fail to make those phone calls, send those cards, or check your Facebook page. I want you to know that you are a priority to me, one of the great loves of my life, and the Bestest Friend a girl could ask to have.

Love,
Dommiwoo

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Dear LDJ,
I watched Dr. BB play Mario Brothers on the Wii today. He questioned me, asking me to explain my fascination with watching others play video games. I tried to explain - I am so bad at it, it makes me nervous to play myself, but I admire the skill it takes to be good - a list of excuses that could fill up this screen. In the end I stopped talking. I mumbled to myself, "It's all LDJ's fault." It is your fault, you know. I think of watching others play video games as a comfort, a time to spend time with people you care about, a joy.

Sometimes, perhaps more than with most people, I feel like I'm letting you down. I don't call enough, I don't DO enough, I am not enough. I'm sorry for all of that. But you should know, I do not take it for granted that I can call you at any time and bitch about anything - politics, family, books, or the smelly guy on the bus that tried to hit on me. Thank you for your patience. You really could get a better friend, I bet. I probably shouldn't tell you that so you don't go dumping me for someone better. But, really, you're special, you're worthy, and you're important. As soon as you realize that, and I hope you do soon, you're going to be on your way to everything you ever dreamed of.

Love,
That Girl Who Used to Drool on Your Pillowcase