Dear Sir and Ms. Darling,
It makes me immensely happy to be a part of this journey called ‘The Sir Letters’ on WordPress. As you would be aware, I started following your blog from its nascent stages. I will quickly run through the usual accolades that people shower on you, as a show of respect, before I move on to why I love your blog. You two are masters of the written word (no, no and no I shall not accept any refusal from you on this one), you embody soul and spirit through your words, it is impossible to lose attention when one reads your posts and I mean everything I have said here.
There is nothing more pleasing than a good love story. I believe, we enrich our own love for our dear ones, as we relate to and appreciate another’s love. Your story has been extremely thought provoking, to put it mildly. Oft times, I’ve imagined being with you to spectate as I read through your vivid portrayal of love. I feel like the camera on ‘Big Brother’, the all-seeing-eye, but I just flatter myself with that thought as you deserve the credit for being able to present it in such a manner. I have felt the laughter, the smiles, the fear, the sadness, the pain, even the tea that Ms. Darling once made.
Like so many of your followers, I wished to share the same place, to experience the same kind of love, to love and to be loved unbound. Like all good stories, yours teaches many lessons. It has taught me how to love, how to respect, how to not make mistakes as well as how to be patient. Now you know why I find your writings endearing.
You have touched my life in ways I cannot express and I am not even alluding to my limitations with the English language. I just cannot explain, even if my diction improved a 100 fold. It is something I feel. I will end this passage with one of my all time favorite quotes; this should suffice to sum up what I wanted to say –
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen, heard or even touched. They must be felt within the heart. – Helen Keller
I do have a few questions for you. Some are for Sir, some are for Ms. Darling and some are for you both as a couple.
Sir,
I understand that you met Ms. Darling online and over time you decided to meet her in person. What was your expectation of Ms. Darling when you decided to meet? Did you intend to evaluate if she was someone you could live with for the rest of your life, or was it out of curiosity to see how far this goes or did you already make the decision that she was the one for you and you wanted to plan what came next?
It was close to eighteen months between first meeting my Darling online and seeing her in real life. I had very real expectations of who and what my Darling would be, she did not disappoint. There was certainly no intention of evaluating her as we had taken the last year and half to size each other up; meeting in the flesh was just the last hurdle. She was very much the one and by the end of her trip we were very much planning what was going to come next.
I have read about how heart-broken you were at losing contact with Ms. Darling. I have also read about how your marriage had failed and how you felt bad about what had happened. During this phase, were there moments when you wished to check on Ms. Darling? Yes it may sound selfish, if you were trying to look her up during your testing times. But at the same time did you have the feeling that she could be living a difficult life too and maybe you could lift her spirits in some way?
I didn’t wish to check on her, I did check on her. I found out about her education and an awful accident that befell a member of her family. I didn’t do this often but I had a misguided belief that I would be happy if I could live vicariously through my Darling’s happiness.
We all know what would be the one thing you would correct/change, if you could travel to the past. But I wish to know, how would you have done it?
I would have slipped an engagement ring on her finger right there and then. I would have stayed in contact with her regardless, and if we had lost contact I would have jumped on a plane and gone to find her.
Why Ms. Darling (Why not Ms. Darling, will not be accepted)? What traits in her attracted you and at what point, if it is something you can discern, did you feel that you had fallen in love with her?
She is smart, funny and quick witted. I admire those traits and she consistently displayed them over an extended period of time. She is kind, a good mother and is a good listener, and these are all excellent traits. In terms of knowing when I loved her, I couldn’t tell you a date. I can say it happened fairly quickly. We both fought it and I dare say tried to deny it, however we were over powered by the emotion.
Ms. Darling,
You are a resilient, self-made woman whose thoughts are well crafted and actions are well reasoned. Returning to the past is not an option for any of us, but how do you see yourself 10 years from now?
I really can’t say how I see myself 10 years from now. I can barely look into next week. I don’t mean to disappoint you, but I am flummoxed how to answer this. I suppose I hopefully see myself a little wiser with some gray hairs to match (or shall I call them stress highlights?). I want to be kinder, more compassionate, and a lot more forgiving. As for the physical demographics, I really cannot say. It’s kind of weird to think about.
When a close friend asks you about your story, do you open up and tell them all that happened, how you had felt and had been through? Do words roll out eventually incriminating Sir or do you carefully chose your words so as to not create any impression about him?
I don’t think I’ve ever shared my whole story with anyone. I have yet to even tell friends – or family for that matter – about The Sir Letters in specific detail. I have mentioned that I’m writing again, and I may have even referred to the format in which I am writing but I have not told anyone the actual site. I am not one to boast of my writing. I know I have told people in general about Sir and that we’ve reconnected. My sister knows about Sir, and she’s talked with him.
With the exception of one person who knows the summarized version about my time with Sir, I have never shared in full living details about being with him. I think it was too special to me at the time, and I wanted to savor it and keep it to myself. To be honest, after Sir said goodbye I think I felt too foolish and hurt to share. I just buried it. I think the only place I’ve ever said harsh words about Sir has been in these letters, and even those were difficult. I don’t like the thought of anyone judging him or his actions.
Why Sir (Why not Sir, will not be accepted)? What traits in him attracted you and at what point, if it is you can discern it, did you feel that you have fallen in love with him?
If memory serves, I knew I loved Sir before I met him, but it was a love based on mutual intellect, shared laughter, and trust. It was a bit surreal. It was cemented when I met him in person. The moment that it truly sunk in, was the first night I was in Australia. I was so wired from the long flight, and Sir was incredibly patient. I wrote about how he was standing in his living room watching me. I stopped in front of him and looked into his eyes. They were glowing. Then he smiled at me. I’m surprised I didn’t hit the floor right then and there. I just thought, “I love this man.” His good traits are many. He gets my jokes and my weirdness. He just gets me. He can finish my sentences. He doesn’t flinch when I’m emotional. He’ll just say, “Wow” when I do something totally foolish or uncharacteristic of me. He is incredibly compassionate. When I saw him with his parents, he was so tender-hearted and kind. I remember thinking that any man who treats his parents with such love and respect is a keeper.
Sir and Ms. Darling,
When you started writing this blog, what was your purpose? Did you intend to write, to remind yourselves and journal the whole journey, or did you intend to open up to the world and see what others thought about this whole story?
The blog was very much Darling’s idea. When she told me about it I just asked for the right of reply. There are two sides to every story but I knew my Darling would need to work through the issues of our past (she still does). I personally felt it would be better if I were there to listen and where possible help. Who knows, I may be wrong.
I started this blog so Sir would always know how I feel about him hence “The Sir Letters.” It may sound macabre but, I wanted my feelings documented in case anything ever happened to me he’d have a permanent record. I actually contemplated writing letters the old-fashioned way (long hand with pen and paper), but I am very much a technology lover. I had a few letters written before I got up the courage to show Sir. When I did show him, he didn’t even hesitate; he asked if he could respond. And here we are.
Now that there is a small community of faithful followers, do you find yourselves approaching, reacting or writing differently?
At the risk of sounding conceited these are very much letters between the two of us. Sometime we probably write things that we may find a little hard to say out loud. While I know we have readers, I make no conscious decision to write for our audience. We often have a number of letters in draft form. We often discuss which ones should be posted in what order and so we try to mix it up so it is not all of the same tone all the time. But in terms of the content I would tell anyone to treat it like the off button on a TV remote control. If you don’t like what you’re reading, switch it off.
I concur with Sir. I have never even considered changing the way I write to him just because we decided to go public with our letters. That just wouldn’t be right. The only time we switched modus operandi was when we invited guest correspondents.
The letters have so far focused on the past. If I am right, there was only one letter that was set in the present. Would we have more letters on what is happening in your lives today?
I would agree that many letters focus on the past, but out of the 110 or so post that we have up quite a large number of them reference our current circumstances. The old school teacher in me feels the need to set some homework and ask you to read through some letters again.
Tsk tsk BP. Quite a fair few are impromptu letters written on spur of the moment on whatever I was thinking about right then.
That is all I have to ask, for now. I could ask so much more but, I shall stop. I thank you for giving me this opportunity to write on your blog. I thought of a portmanteau for your names – D’Sire. If you like it, I shall use it to address you on my comments in the future.
I wish you eternal happiness and peace. I hope the last letter we read on this blog ends, “Sir and Ms. Darling were once again together and they lived happily ever after….”
Good luck and Godspeed
BP (Walking With Her Forever)
Thank you for your letter BP. While you may not have been with us and The Sir Letters in its inception, you were pretty darn close. It’s out of characteristic and odd when I don’t see a comment from you. I guess I just expect them now. ~ Darling
© 2014 Darling and Sir
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