Forever and For Always

It’s been 5 years.

5 years since I made a decision I'll never regret - choosing to have you by my side through this journey called life.

I am grateful to God for that moment on the 3rd of October, 2021, when I walked through those doors and you were right there, waiting for me with open arms.

Interestingly, we had met a few times about a year before that, and we became acquainted. But on this very day, we engaged in a deep conversation, and it was the beginning of me getting to know you far beyond the surface.

Your nuances, quirks and discipline kept reeling me in, and the more I learnt about you, the more I couldn't help but fall in love with you.

As days, weeks, months and years went by, you became my constant source of comfort. In moments when things felt out of my control, you offered me the sense of stability I needed.

Stable breathing.
Stable counting.
Stable steps.
Stable reps.

And with that sense of control, I felt whole.

You’re my safe space.
My therapist.
The ever-present shoulder I can cry on.

You spark a kind of joy in me that words can barely express. When I’m with you, my body is flooded with endorphins that make me sing and grin from ear to ear, and I absolutely love the feeling.

Wood, which represents strength, is the symbol for a 5th anniversary. And indeed, strength is what you’ve given me. You’ve made me stronger physically and, most importantly, mentally. You push me to achieve anything I put my mind to, and somehow, through all these years, you’ve helped me fall even more in love with myself.

Of course, no relationship is perfect. We still have our differences, like how I haven’t quite warmed up to your Bulgarian roots because, frankly, they exhaust me. Or your Romanian heritage, which I’ve somewhat learned to tolerate. I guess your Russian bloodline is the only part of your ancestry I’ve truly become accustomed to.

But that doesn’t mean I love you any less. I’d gladly hop on a plane to Bulgaria, Romania and Russia, as long as you’re there with me. That’s all that matters.

There have been some pretty hard seasons when life reared its ugly head and came between us. I think back to the one time you caused me great pain. Part of that pain was due to my own ignorance, and I blamed myself for it. I never hated you, even though the only way I could heal was to take a break from us for a while.

But then, we found our way back to each other because our bond cannot easily be broken.

It’s been 5 years.

5 years of putting in the work and breaking personal records together. It hasn’t always been easy, but I dare say, it has been worth it.

So, on this day, all I want to say, is thank you.

Paraphrasing Dido, (as you know, music is my love language), Thank you for making these the best 5 years of my life. 

My hope is that we get to celebrate this love again, 5 years from now, and for umpteen more years to come.

Happy Fitnessiversary, my darling.  

Forever your gym rat. 😘

xoxo,
KiKi 💪🏽