It’s Jesse’s 21st birthday today.

I mention Jesse occasionally on here, but I don’t talk about him in any great depth. There are some parts of my life that I do try to keep private.

Today though, I’d just like to share how proud I am to be with him, and what a really great guy he is. I’m certainly no dream to live with, and yet he is infinitely patient with me. He doesn’t always understand (hell, I don’t understand half the time) but he keeps on trying. I’m really grateful for that.

I’m really grateful for the way he pushes me to value myself more, and the way he pushes me to stand up for myself, even to him. And even when I snap at him for whatever reason, 10 minutes later he’s over it. He doesn’t resent me or begrudge a moment of drama.

When I was sick back in October, with the ulcer and the internal bleeding, he was beyond wonderful. One evening he came to lie next to me in bed, to keep me company. I smelled awful and I was deeply embarrassed about it. There was nothing I could do. I smelled like old blood, sweat and some other stuff you don’t even wanna know about it. You know when you can smell yourself it’s bad.

He didn’t say a word. He never once mentioned it, teased me about, anything. He just held me while I lay there, barely able to move or speak from the pain.

I don’t know if he’ll ever understand how much that gesture meant to me or how I loved I felt because of it.

So today, I just want to wish him a very happy birthday and I hope has many more wonderful birthdays to come. He deserves them.

Welcome to one artist's odyssey

On May 21st, I'm going on a quest. A quest for art, for meaning, for beauty, for truth. I'm picking up my life, packing up a suitcase and heading to rural France to live, paint and study art for the next 18 months.

Click here to find out how you can stowaway in my suitcase and join in the adventure!