Welcome to another Grateful Heart Monday entry, where gratitude remains the sole focus in my writing for the day, which for today is for my 10-year anniversary I just celebrated with my partner, Chris.
Honestly, it’s somewhat mind-blowing to me that 10 years have gone by since I first met Chris. Just over a decade ago now, we had our first meet and greet on a cruise to the Caribbean, which by the end of, we chose to become a couple. For two years after, we stayed in a long-distance dating pattern with me in Boston and Chris in Toledo, mostly because of me wanting to be sure I wasn’t following in any of my old toxic patterns in the sex and love realm of addiction. Eventually, God led me to move to Toledo to live with Chris and I’ve been there ever since.
For someone like me who played the field far too much throughout my 20’s and 30’s, and constantly struggled to ever settle down with any one person for a while, reaching this decade milestone is a rather amazing feat to me. What’s even more amazing is how my relationship with Chris has grown deeper and deeper the more we’ve remained together. I give that credit to God, my 12 Step recovery in SLAA, and remaining 100% monogamous through it all.
I can’t imagine my life in a relationship with anyone else right now except Chris. Chris has been my rock through many anxiety-riddled times, through plenty of health issues, and through countless moments where my mind got the best of me. I truly am grateful that I have a decade now with Chris and pray we have another decade and more ahead.
So, I dedicate today’s Grateful Heart Monday to a person who is such a beautiful soul and someone who has chosen to walk by my side through thick and thin, for 10 years now, even when I’ve often thought I’ve had nothing to offer. Chris, I am grateful you have stuck by my side for the past 10 years…I love you…
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
