A Letter to Stormy

You worry that one day you’ll lose me. You worry I’ll grow tired of you, or that I’ll be tempted to replace what we have with something easier. If you could see how far that is from the truth, you would stop carrying that fear like a stone.

It steadies me when you let me listen — when you lay out the old hurts and the new aches, when you let the raw edges show. It would be cruel and wrong to make you feel ashamed for speaking about your pain. Tell me what’s heavy; tell me when it frays you. I would never ask you to tuck those parts away to make me comfortable. My job, in every sense that matters, is to help you feel safe enough to be seen.

I want you to be happy. I want you healthy. I want to hear your laughter — the small, surprised giggles, the silly stims, the chittering moments that make your face light up. Those little pieces of you are not a burden; they are the map of where you are most yourself. They make you whole, and they make me grateful.

I see you fighting through flare-ups and fatigue. I see the nights your stomach burns, the way your skin feels rough and raw, the aching that settles into your bones and your back. The monthly pains that steal the light out of your day — I see them, and I mourn for them with you. You have been brave in ways that rarely make the headlines: learning better diets, testing new meds, warming your body with a heating pad, finding small rituals that dull the edge of a bad day. Chronic illness may not be eradicated, but it can be managed, softened, and occasionally outrun. Keep searching for that clearing in the woods of illness; I will walk beside you until you find it.

You do so much for your animals, and that tells me everything about the heart you carry. Any creature lucky enough to cross your path has found sanctuary in your hands. Your kindness is a living thing — quiet, steady, and absolutely real.

I am glad that Kibo has been able to help you in small, practical ways; it’s been good to see you supported. I won’t say everything is fixed, because it isn’t — but I will say you’ve made progress that deserves to be noticed. Your room is tidier, your routines are kinder to your body, and your steps forward are worth celebrating.

I learned a hard lesson the first time I walked away. I will not make that mistake again. You are the sweetest, warmest, most fascinating person I have ever known. Loving you feels like winning something impossible and real at once. Everything about you — your curiosity, your kindness, your little eccentricities — is exactly what I want in a partner.

If there’s anything I can do to guide you toward better days, tell me. If there’s comfort I can offer, I will offer it freely. My promise to you is simple and absolute: I am not going anywhere. I will love you more with each passing day. I will practice patience, show understanding, and keep choosing you without conditions.

You taught me that true love is not a fairy-tale finish line but an everyday decision. You turned my life into a place worth staying for. For all that you are — for all you give, and for all you are still becoming — I am grateful beyond words.

Forever yours,
— Kacey R. I.

#ForStormy #TrueLove #KeepFighting