Four Years of the Blogitects

I was planning to blog about something else today – I’ve been traveling in the U.S. and haven’t posted for weeks and I have a ton of travel content to catch up on. But this week marks the four-year anniversary of the day I met Thorsten, the other half of the Blogitects, and he drew something for me as a gift:

How could I not drop everything and make a post about it?

There are so many things I love about this picture, but I think my favorite part is that Thorsten drew us wearing our Caraci clothes.

I feel like I never properly introduced Thorsten on this blog. He just appeared, first in a post about Dagwood sandwiches. Then Thorsten’s sketches also started appearing in the blog (I think this was the first one). Before I knew it, it was like he’d always been here.

I don’t think I’ve ever told Thorsten’s and my origin story – how we met at a braai in our mutual friends’ backyard in October 2020, at the height of the pandemic, and how we constantly marvel over what a miracle it was that we crossed paths. We were both in our late 40s, each with a string of breakups and various relationship calamities behind us, and both fairly certain we would never meet another romantic partner again, like ever.

Thorsten made an off-color joke about home invasions that only another hardcore Joburg-lover (like me) could find funny. Apparently Thorsten liked that I swore occasionally – in a funny and not too offensive way – during our conversation. Then Thorsten asked me if I’d ever blogged about Dagwoods before (I hadn’t), tipping me off to the fact that he already followed 2Summers. When Thorsten said goodbye before leaving the party, I hugged him (major covid faux-pas) and awkwardly blurted, “You know where to find me!” I assumed I’d hear from him soon.

But Thorsten didn’t contact me right away (he claims he was overthinking it), so a few days later I sent him a message on Facebook, where we were somehow already connected. A week went by and he didn’t respond to – or even see – my message, which was a little disheartening. (Turns out Thorsten is one of those people who doesn’t check Messenger.) And it all could have ended right there, before it began.

But I just had a feeling about this guy, and I’d been locked down alone for the past six months, and what the hell did I have to lose? So I eventually got up the nerve to contact our mutual friend and get Thorsten’s number and send him a Whatsapp, which he responded to immediately. Not long afterward we finally went for those Dagwoods.

That is how Thorsten and I became the Blogitects.

I’m pretty circumspect about writing personal stuff on the blog these days. Relationships can come and go but the internet is forever. I’ve definitely overshared in the past and regretted it later, and I don’t want to jinx things, so I try to be a little more careful than I used to be. But at this point I feel comfortable saying this guy will probably be around for a while. I still can’t believe how lucky I got four years ago, and how lucky I continue to be every day of my life with this man in it.

I feel safe with Thorsten. He believes in me and supports me in everything I do (and don’t do). He’s kind and funny and smart and a great listener. He’s the most creative person I know. He’s open-minded and humble and always working to improve himself. We never run out of interesting things to talk about. We see the world in similar ways and we never get tired of traveling together.

Thorsten is an amazing architect and I find his work fascinating; he is equally fascinated by my work. Also Thorsten is a kick-ass picture-hanger and he can fix things and build stuff. He cooks and does the dishes and rarely complains. He’s a great father to two very cool teenagers, for whom I’m also very grateful.

I couldn’t have asked for a better person to share the second half of my life with, and I think he showed up at exactly the right time. Happy anniversary, Thorsten. I love you.