charming

“There are a lot of things I love about you,” I said to Ming.  “But the one I’m thinking about right now is how when I see a pill you broke in half, I notice how you ignored the score line.  That’s so damn charming.”

We giggled.

“Anarchist pill breaker,” I said.  “You don’t need to do it the normal way– you do it in the way that works.”

“Yeah,” Ming agreed.

I kissed him.  He is an amazing person and world-class spouse.  I am very fortunate.

charming

Here are some things I’ve found charming about other people I love or used to love.

• My homegirl’s hand motions when she enjoys a song or some noise.
• My best friend’s one crooked tooth.
• Deep friend loyalty.
• When they’re excited and say, “Fuck yeah!” and move their arm in a certain way like pumping the air.
• A way his voice goes at the end of sentences when he’s sleepy or high.
• A wordless question sound he made to ask for consent.
• The time I saw them jump into a dumpster–I nearly fainted.
• Her upright, fuck you posture when she was being questioned.
• Something she said in Spanish when she was joking.
• The way she reads my mind.
• Hand freckles.
• The scads of reading glasses she left everywhere.

my pills

The reason I know how Ming breaks pills is that he does it for me.   I have this pills packet we call it, with little compartments for am and pm.  I take two pharmaceuticals and three herbs.  Sometimes vitamin d, sometimes iron.

We used to call the pills packet “the magazine,” an ammunition reference, like a magazine of bullets–not sure how this word got in my head.  When I was a kid, my dad had an intense phase of consuming books and movies about the Vietnam war.  A special interest for a year or two.  Maybe the weaponry info got in my head then.

Once a week it’s time to refill the pills packet, and lately Ming does it.  He is very good with pills, as a nurse: Fastidious and trustworthy.

Ming is very kind to me.  So many things he needs to do, and so many things he does to help me.  Some are more tender than others.  I remind myself that even what doesn’t seem romantic is an act of love.

He also shares his blueberries