So Nicki gave me the best gift I have literally ever received for my birthday. And that is saying something because she is insanely good at giving great gifts that are both thoughtful and meaningful. The folks in my orbit have listened to me rave about my beloved custom pudding spoons for close to a year now. And my Supernatural Million Point pillow since March 2024.

So what was this amazing gift?

She got me a custom and incredibly personal poem from my favorite living poet, Tyler Knott Gregson. For Tyler to write a custom poem for someone, he needs some details to go off of, which Nicki provided. Stories, words, pictures, she gave a lot of detail. She let me read that too, which I have also read as much as the poem itself. Nicki and I are a couple who discusses everything so there were no surprises there, but it makes me smile every time I read it. I like every bit of it, but the following line especially hits, because it’s true and something we have discussed many times:

“We didn’t know why we’re so drawn to each other, being so different – he’s a bearded biker from Iowa, and I’m a bubbly preschool teacher from Colorado – but we just couldn’t get enough of each other.“

The poem itself tells the story of Nicki and I and our relationship; the trials and tribulations and extremes due the nature of being long distance, but what makes it especially meaningful is the references to very specific moments and emotions we’ve shared. Like all of Tyler’s poetry, it speaks to me on a base level, but this one just reaches in and and hits me in all the best ways.

It talks a lot about the things we are not and the things we are. She gave it to me on a day that I really needed it. Have you ever read something and thought it was speaking directly to you? For the first time in my life, this actually was.

People say words only have the power you give them, and while I believe that for the most part, these words were like a tidal wave. These words changed the course of my life. I kept coming back to them. On the ride to the airport. On the plane home. Many times in the days after. I had a few days where I was wrestling with the largest issue I’ve ever faced in my life, and bit by bit, the tidal wave washed away all the flotsam, all the unnecessary, all the unneeded, until only the truth remained and I was able to see clearly.

No, I’m not sharing it. Maybe someday, but for now I am keeping its magic to Nicki and myself. I was deeply moved when reading it the 1st time, the 10th time, and the 25th time. I expect that to continue. But I can tell you a bit about it. It is typed out on paper that is 125 years old. Every single detail is exquisite. Included was a video of Tyler reading it aloud that incredibly well done and I found quite touching. Much like Nicki herself, there is no part of this gift I do not cherish. And in typical Nicki fashion, when I said this was the best gift I had ever received and there was no way to top it, she simply replied:

“You haven’t seen your Christmas present yet.“

Mind. Blown.