Debbie,
there is a moment before midnight when the world falls into a hush,
as if time itself leans forward to feel the weight of your name.
In that breath between years, you fill me completely.
Your warmth, your softness, your fire, your light.
All of it reaching across the distance
until it feels like you are here with me,
close enough that I can almost feel your breath on mine.

The sky blooms with color,
but nothing burns the way you burn in me.
Every spark reminds me of the way you awaken something fierce and tender,
something that refuses to fade
even when miles lie between us.
My heart moves toward you with a pull that feels older than time,
as if it has loved you long before this year
and will love you long after the next.

There is a glow around you that feels unreal,
a quiet magic that softens everything heavy in my days.
Even when the world presses hard,
you bring a light that settles into me
like a promise I can trust.
You make the future feel alive,
as if every sunrise waits to reveal something new
and beautiful
and ours.

There is depth in you too,
a darker sweetness that draws me closer.
In the shadows of the old year,
I feel the echo of everything we carried
and everything we held onto.
You are the candle that never fades,
steady and warm in the quiet places of my heart.
You stay with me in ways I cannot always explain
but always feel.

As the new year rises,
I want you to know this with absolute certainty.
I choose you.
Your laughter, your strength, your softness, your fire,
your dreams, your flaws, your light, your darkness.
I choose the closeness we build
even across the distance.
I choose the future we shape
one message, one breath, one hope at a time.

Happy New Year, Debbie.
This year is ours.
And I am forever yours.

Debbie, my love,
Tonight the distance feels softer,
as if the world itself is leaning closer,
trying to carry me to you.

You’re in America, I’m in the Netherlands,
yet somehow you’re everywhere around me.
In the quiet glow of the lights,
in the stillness after the last carol fades,
I feel you,
your warmth, your softness,
the way your presence settles into my soul
as naturally as breath.

I close my eyes
and imagine you beside me,
your head resting gently against my chest,
my arms around you the way they ache to be.
I imagine the slow, familiar rhythm
of our bodies finding each other,
the calm that comes when your heart
beats close enough for mine to answer.

There is a tenderness in the longing,
a pull deep and quiet,
a desire not just to hold you,
but to feel you with every part of me
that has missed you this year.

I miss the way your touch grounds me.
I miss the way your voice softens my edges.
I miss the way you look at me,
as if the whole world has finally made sense.

And though oceans stretch between us,
I carry you in every moment,
your warmth under my skin,
your love woven into my thoughts,
your name a comfort I return to
again and again.

This Christmas, my beautiful Debbie,
I don’t just long for you,
I feel you,
quiet and close,
as though the miles between us
have folded gently away.

Until I can hold you for real,
know this:
my heart rests with yours,
my love reaches for you always,
and you are the most intimate part
of every Christmas dream I keep.

Five years of laughter, love, and grace,
Seventeen months with your sweet face,
As my wife, my heart, my guiding star,
How lucky I am to love who you are.

From vows we spoke beneath the sky,
To quiet nights where dreams drift by,
Each moment with you feels brand new,
A thousand joys wrapped up in you.

Your laugh still lights the darkest day,
Your touch still takes my breath away,
And every glance reminds me why,
You’re my forever, my reason, my “why.”

So here’s to you, my birthday queen,
To all we’ve lived, to all we’ve seen.
May this year bloom as bright and true,
As the endless love I hold for you.

Happy Birthday, my beautiful Debbie!!!

Debbie, though miles stretch wide between us,
Our hearts beat as one, distant yet near.
This Valentine’s Day, I write to remind you,
That love knows no bounds, not now, nor ever clear.   

The stars in the sky may guide your way,
But it’s your light that brightens my darkest gray.
Though oceans divide and time zones differ,
Your presence within me never falters or withers.   

I imagine your laughter, a song in my head,
A soothing balm for the lonely nights ahead.
And though we can't touch, our spirits entwine,
Creating a bond that feels so divine.   

Distance might keep us from holding hands,
But it cannot silence the whispers of our lands.
For every sunset you watch alone,
Know I’m right there, feeling it as my own.   

Debbie, my heart, my compass, my flame,
Even afar, you’ve become my mainstay.
Through letters exchanged and calls we share,
You’ve built a home in the space I carry.   

So here’s to us, despite the miles we roam,
Two souls in sync, finding comfort in home.
Happy Valentine’s Day, my love so true—
No distance could ever sever what we’ve made anew.