It takes patience to appreciate domestic bliss; volatile spirits prefer unhappiness. -George Santayana

Dear Joel,

A year ago we decided to launch a startup together.

We gave it a name, "Gwen+Joel." We set it up with a website. We picked a launch date, "03.06.09." We streamed it to a thousand of our web friends. Hashtags emerged. We were public when we decided to share this wild trip together. And why not? Our first moves towards a relationship were made in public, on Twitter, after all. (Not knowing we'd start a trend.) 

Image: Holly Hoyt Photography

Despite the twittering tech (because of?) our friendship has a base I find hard to describe. When I'm out traveling several times a month, I feel it. You envelope me at the airport. Coming and going, you meet me. Your eyes look like your mom's when they well up. We say good-bye. We trade hearts, I board and fly with yours. Even as I fly, you ground me, hold me. Even with the inevitable turbulence, we're working on the same team, toward goals we evolve together.

(When you do fly in the seat next to me, you split the Toblerone in two, giving me the bigger part. Thank you for doing that. Those gestures don't go unnoticed.)

We launched this even though we know startups fail. Startups, relationships. Fail.

They ask for a leap, promise nothing for absolute sure. But your first startup didn't fail, nor did mine. And the ones we're in now are poised for take off. I think it helps we talk. We talk about everything. We talk about the what ifs. Not the "what if you get run over by a semi." But the more likely what ifs. What if you see a beautiful woman and she makes your heart skip a beat? What if I'm on the road and enjoy a conversation with a gentleman? What if technology presents a temptation? Both on the human end - and if it asks us to stretch ourselves beyond what's healthy.

We cover as much terrain on the map as possible. And when we're exhausted from traveling, we incubate again. We have dark days. On the toughest, we reach out to those who love us and promised to support us in this.

We can't see all the edges of the map (nor do we want to), but this first year has given us a lay of the land.

The startup of our marriage, for a year in a tight bud, finds a way to bloom. In its own way, it's coming out of the incubation stage. Our relationship, though still in startup mode, has evolved this year.

I think it's fair to say we're ready to come out of beta.

What do you reckon?

Yours,

G

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This week, to honor a year of domestic incubation (a term I resisted for the first ten months or so), Joel and I will be sharing stories on our blogs (find him at http://joellongtine.com). This is in addition to other posts of the social web variety. Please subscribe for daily geek love updates all this week.

Please share your geek love stories. How does yours bud?