An ode to the little Missus

To my Swiss Missus.

You probably know, if you are here often enough, that Swiss Miss is the driving force behind this blog. She is the writer, editor, enthusiast, champion. She often sings the praises of others, but too rarely do I tell you, faithful of the blogosphere, what she means to me. It is high time I did.

When I first met my Swiss Missus, I was amazed that such a beautiful, fun, and smart person might pick me. The more time we spent together, the better my life became; now we are engaged, and every day I wake up feeling lucky to be with her. She keeps me honest and she brings out the best in me. Swiss Miss moved to Switzerland for her Mister; she has learned German for me and sacrificed her career and her professional network for me. She continues to charge ahead even though life here is surprisingly difficult sometimes, even though the bureaucracy is baffling and the people are rude and the cigarette smoke hangs like a pall over everything.

Life in Switzerland is tough for Swiss Miss, even though it might not always be evident on the other end of our blog. Making friends is difficult here; the few we have are great, but it is a far cry from what Swiss Miss and I left behind in Toronto. The English-language media market is miniscule and amateurish; Swiss Miss has hustled up freelance work and contacts and a network but it is not the full-time job she actually wants, not the fulfilling professional experience she deserves. My job is better now, but stressful and tiring, and she is the only person I can complain to when I have a tough day... she moved here for my work and now she gets to listen to me complain about it!

And, in spite of this all, Swiss Miss does still forge ahead. She is learning to ski; she is sitting opposite me right now learning about a health company she hopes to land a job with; she is planning our wedding almost single-handedly. I am so proud of her, and love her so much. To borrow from John Prine, she takes a licking and she keeps on ticking, and I'm never going to let her go. And as I said above, I thought it was high time I told you all just how I feel.