Matt W Cook

I’m hanging out with some of my favorite people in the world right now in the neatest part of Canada: Thorncliffe. I’ve always been interested in the neat demographics of the place. It seems to be almost completely Pakistani/Afghani.

But that’s not what is on my mine right now. My dear friends, Shawn and Hayley, are lovely people. And they quite obviously love each other. And as I see them in love I taste a bit of bitter-sweetness in my heart.

It’s sweet, because it’s great to see people I love in love with each other. Let’s face it, most marriages are not nearly as loving, affectionate or fun as they ought to be.

But it’s bitter because I haven’t seen my wife for more than a month. Ouch.

I’ve got my fair share of problems, but I’m willing to boast on at least this one thing: I’ve got a great marriage. Usually when you examine something deeply you find problems. Problems with you motives. Problems with systems. Problems with ideas. Very few things can stand up to real hard scrutiny and keep integrity. But I’d dare anyone to examine my marriage and find a glaring fault in it. Ruth and I have worked hard to love each other, and our work is paying off massively! I cannot understand the people who complain about marriage or talk of ‘settling down’ in marriage or about life becoming boring or routine because of marriage. My marriage is amazing, I have a wonderful wife with whom I’d be willing to live in the crappiest part of the world. It’s sappy, perhaps, but I am not complete without her. Ruth rocks my face right off.

So here I sit, alone in the dark, counting down to the day I hold her in my arms again. Soon and very soon, right?

So, Ruth, yar men bohut zyada pyaar karta hun tujhe. Aur yaqeen hoja ke me jaldi araha hun. Tere ghar aoonga, men agoona tujh ko lena. Tyaar hoja. Araha hun, men.