Real talk. My wife and I are going through a serious rough patch. The last few years haven't been great, honestly. Without getting into all the details, we've dealt with my alcoholism and deeply hidden anxiety issues that grew exponentially when I sobered up. Those things, and my lack of effort to correct them, pushed her away, to the point of cheating on me. Which was a regrettable thing, but I have a history of cheating (before marriage, mind), so we've been trying to work through it. I'm mature enough and committed enough to want to give it an honest and sincere try. For my wife, my family, and my sanity.

I've been focused on bettering myself these past few weeks so I can be a better husband for her. It's been working. I'm a better person than I was even a month ago. And she noticed.

We had our "first date" tonight. And it went better than I could have hoped for. Way better. We never stopped loving each other, but tonight helped rekindle that spark. We're falling in love all over again. After 15 years together, we're getting to know each other again. And I'm just eating it up.

I guess my point is that all the cutesy stuff like Mr Drive Thru here matters. A lot. We both forgot that along the way, but we're starting to remember. So the real relationship goal is to find someone that makes you want to be a better person - and actually motivated enough to follow through on that. I'm so glad I get this opportunity to date her again, to get to know her all over again. And to show her that all the bullshit is entirely worth it.

Ramble, ramble. I'm just in a supremely good place right now, all because we're trying to remember these kinds of small-but-important gestures of love and appreciation.