Valentine's Day 2026

Kielie Kat,

Will you be my Valentine?

Not just for today. For all of it.

Our Story

Seven months of love, patience, fun, and tears.

Seven months of learning each other.

Seven months of choosing each other — even when it was hard.

Thank you for this journey.

Thank you for not giving up on us.

Thank you for loving me through my chaos.

This is my celebration of us.
Everything we've built. Everything we're becoming.

Here's to life with you.

— Your Lew

August 14, 2025 — Onrus Beach

Our Foundation

We were both done swiping.

Then we swiped on each other.

Last ones. Best ones.

Not because we complete each other — but because we make each other more.

“ONMENSLIK lief.”
That's what this is.

Our Story

Where it all began. And where we keep beginning.

August 14, 2025

Onrus Beach

After 3 days of silence, I was terrified. You thought I was ending things.

I was actually just trying not to mess up the biggest question I'd ever ask.

You said yes anyway.

Best risk I ever took.

“Bly jy is veilig.”

August 20, 2025

You Saw Me

When I shared my insecurities — all of them — you didn't run.

You listed what makes someone worthy: Hot. Emotionally Intelligent. KIND. Integrity.

Then you looked at me and said:

“Jy is all of the above en meer.”

I still don't know if I believe it. But I believe that YOU believe it. And that's enough.

September 15, 2025

The Day I Almost Ruined Everything

You were quiet. I assumed the worst.

I drafted an ultimatum while you were planning a weekend at Struisbaai.

You showed up with solutions while I was preparing for war.

Lesson learned: Your silence isn't indifference. It's you thinking deeper than I can see.

Note to self: Wait. Breathe. She's processing, not leaving.

September 15, 2025

Struisbaai

Our sacred space. Your parents' beach house became our Garden of Eden.

Equal ground. No one's territory. Just us.

A place to be naked and unashamed.
To build rituals.
To be fully ourselves.

Our birthplace.

Date Unknown

The Swimming Day

You were down. Something was wrong. I didn't fully understand.

So I sat on the floor and held you.

That wasn't sacrifice, Kelly. That was the privilege of loving you.

I'd do it a thousand times.

Pure Us

The Swellendam Run

Remember this?

Jogging together. Almost had to save a random dog. Then jumped a school fence like teenagers.

That's us.

That's what I want — a lifetime of “that escalated quickly” stories with you.

November 6, 2025

Your Breakthrough

You sent the message that changed everything.

Anxious attachment healing in real-time.

“My tractor is going a bit slower than yours, but I think I'm now coming out of first gear with breaking down walls and trusting that I can trust.”

You weren't just healing. You were inviting me to witness it. That's braver than you know.

November 21, 2025

Interdependence

We named what we're building:

Two people becoming more themselves through loving each other.
Mutual transformation.
Continuous becoming.
Together.

Not codependence. Not independence.
But: We're whole, and we're better together.

February 12, 2026

The Reckoning

We got lost. The last three weeks broke something.

You watched me disappear into crisis. I didn't see you standing there, holding everything.

“Ek is ONMENSLIK lief vir jou... dit het nog nooit verander nie.”

And then you said you needed to know if you could sign up for this — forever.

Not because you don't love me. Because you love me enough to choose with your eyes open.

We found our way back. One honest conversation at a time.

February 14, 2026

Today

Still choosing. Still growing. Still us.

What I Love About You

Your contradictions aren't confusing — they're captivating.

Your Beautiful Contradictions

Unpretentious yet classy — no airs, but carries herself with grace
Feminine strength — can attend a formal dinner then drink with the boys
Disciplined AND wild — 4:50 AM training, then dancing on tables
You can hunt AND get facials
You wrestle me on the floor AND dress up beautifully
You're fierce AND silly — all of it, all at once, all real

Your Body and Mind

Both. Equally. Completely.

The way you carry yourself
The strength you've built
The discipline it took to get there
Your mind — sharp, curious, always growing
I'm attracted to ALL of you

Your HSP Heart

You feel everything deeply — yours AND everyone else's
You stop for the old man at the robot even when you're depleted
You carry the world's pain and still show up
"God's hands and feet" — you actually LIVE it
You give more than most people even have
And somehow, you chose to give to me

Your Empathy

The way you already think about my boys — without meeting them
The way you love your family
The way you love your dogs
The way you stopped for a stranger's dog in Swellendam
You feel everything. And instead of shutting down, you let it make you kinder
That's your superpower

How You Let People Be

You don't judge
You let people exist without needing them to be different
You meet them where they are
That's rare. That's grace.
I've felt it from you

Your Boundaries

You know where you end and others begin
You don't lose yourself trying to please everyone
That's not coldness — that's health
I respect it. I appreciate it. I'm learning from it

How You Love Me

You pay attention — remember what I say, act on it
Thoughtful gestures — the beanie in my favorite color
You call me "slimmy" — makes me feel seen
You love my jokes — even the really terrible ones
You say "Lew" soft when you're done being mad
You stayed in the hard conversations this week. That's everything.

Your Growth

You truly listen — not just hearing, processing
Self-aware — recognizes patterns and works on them
Responds to feedback — actually changes
In therapy, doing the real work — not performing healing, actually healing

How You Pour Into Me

You encourage me — even when I don't believe in myself
You hold me accountable — with love, not judgment
You help and advise — on my boys, my business, my life
You inspire me with your discipline — 4:50 AM makes me want to be better
You show me what it looks like to be loved by family and friends
You don't just love me. You make me want to become someone worth loving

The Little Things That Wreck Me

Specifics. Because you deserve specifics.

• The way you call me “your Lew” — like I belong to you. Because I do.
• Your 4:50 AM alarm that I hate and admire equally
• The beanie in my favorite color — you NOTICED
• The way you fight for us even when you're exhausted
• How you said “ONMENSLIK lief” like it was the most obvious thing
• Your sense of adventure — school fences and all

Your Silliness

Not everyone gets to see this side.

The leg humping. The random noises. The faces you make.

The way you can be completely ridiculous one moment and deeply wise the next.

Not everyone gets to see that side of you.
I get to see it.
That's a privilege I don't take lightly.

Things I'm Still Getting Used To

Love means accepting the chaos.

• Your ADHD brain jumping three topics ahead while I'm still on sentence one
• Your ability to be exhausted AND still want to go to gym
• How you can have 47 thoughts before breakfast
• The light thing. I still don't fully understand the light thing. But I respect it.
• Your energy levels that make me feel like I need a nap just watching you
• How you can be training, running a business, managing life, AND worrying about my boys — all before 9 AM

Your Words I Keep

The messages that remind me why we're building this.

“Jy is alles en nog meer waarvoor ek kon vra en daar is NIKS wat ek nie sal doen vir hierdie verhouding en ons nie.”

You are everything and more I could ask for, and there is NOTHING I won't do for this relationship.

August 14, 2025

“Ek love jou hart en ek sal bitter mooi na dit kyk.”

I love your heart and I will look after it very carefully.

August 14, 2025

“It is so easy for me to love you and that's all I'll do for the rest of my life.”

November 6, 2025

“Ek is ONMENSLIK lief vir jou, I told you this en dit het nog nooit verander nie.”

I am inhumanly in love with you. It has never changed.

February 12, 2026

What We've Learned

The work is not before the relationship. The work IS the relationship.

Earned Love is Valued Love

What comes easy, goes easy. We choose the work because the work creates the value.

Challenges are Opportunities

Every conflict is a chance to understand deeper. This isn't happening TO us — it's happening FOR us.

We Teach Each Other

Show me how to love you, and I'll show you how to love me. Progress over perfection.

Our Past is Our Advantage

Kelly: two 5-year engagements. Louis: 15-year marriage. We've paid the tuition. Now we apply the lessons.

Growth is Non-Negotiable

We grow together or we grow apart. Staying static isn't an option.

Interdependence

Not 'I can't survive without you.' Not 'I don't need you.' But: We're whole, and we're better together.

Love Is Not Enough — And That's Okay

Love doesn't override mismatched capacity or bad timing. But love WITH work, WITH awareness, WITH choosing? That's everything.

My Brain Works Different

I tunnel when I'm stressed. Things fade from my awareness. That's not neglect — it's how I'm wired. Now I know. Now I can build systems.

'Lost Our Way' ≠ 'The End'

We got lost. We stopped feeling each other. But lost implies a path exists. We're finding it. One honest conversation at a time.

Choosing After Seeing The Worst

You saw crisis-mode me. The tunneling. The unawareness. And you're still here, weighing whether to choose me forever. That's eyes-wide-open love.

“The work we do today becomes the foundation we stand on forever.”

Our Shared Future

What we're building together.

The Non-Negotiables

Time Together > Work Demands

Life is too short for separation

Financial Freedom

Money works for us, not us for money

Health & Fitness Together

Active lifestyle as connection

Adventure as Default

School fences, dog rescues, whatever comes next

Building Something Meaningful

Shared mission and purpose

“Daar is NIKS wat ek nie sal doen vir hierdie verhouding en ons nie.”
— Kelly

My Vision For Us

Something I've been holding close. Now I'm inviting you in.

My Perfect Morning

Waking up together. Exercise. Quality time. Quiet time. Bible study. Breakfast. Then work.

My Ideal Evening

Exercise. Shower. Supper together. Movie, music, or just being in the same room.

What Home Feels Like

Alive. Natural rhythms. Busy times and quiet times. A place that breathes.

At 55

Close to my boys. Maybe Europe if they play rugby there. Or South African swallows — traveling during winter. With you.

What I Need Most

Companionship over solitude. Deep emotional connection. Taking care of someone — it energizes me. You let me take care of you. That's a gift.

What I'm Scared Of

• That I'll tunnel again and you'll feel invisible
• That my brain will fail us in the next crisis
• That the adaptation will be too much for you
• That I'm not enough, even with all the trying

What I'm Choosing Anyway

You. The work. The discomfort of growing.

Because loving you is not a sacrifice.
It's the best thing I do.

Our Foundation

The rules we live by.

01. Don't Quit

We don't walk away. If the bell gets rung, it's serious — and we both know it. Short of that? We stay. We work. We figure it out.

02. Patience

With ourselves. With each other. Growth isn't instant. Healing isn't linear. We give each other room to get it wrong and try again.

03. Words

What we speak matters. What we think shapes what we become. We choose words that build, not break. Even when we're frustrated. Especially then.

“Don't quit. Be patient. Speak life.”

Happy Valentine's Day, Kielie Kat

You asked once: “Do you love ME, or just what I do for you?”

Here's my answer:

I love your ridiculous morning energy.
Your refusal to give up on your body even when you're exhausted.
Your fear that you're too much. (You're not.)
Your fear that I'll leave when I'm healed. (I won't.)

I love that you can hunt and get facials in the same week.
That you wrestle me and then say something deeply wise.
That you're silly and fierce and soft and strong.

I love how you held space for my chaos this week.
How you stayed in the conversation when it got hard.
How you're still here — weighing, choosing, loving.

We got lost. We're finding our way back.

I choose you. All of you.
The HSP exhaustion. The ADHD chaos. The 4:50 AM alarms.
Even the light thing.

Especially you.

You asked if you have capacity for this — for life.

I can't answer that for you.

But I can tell you: Loving you is not a burden.
It's not sacrifice.
It's the most natural thing I do.

You're not too much. You're exactly enough.

I choose you. I choose the work. I choose us.

— Your Lew

February 14, 2026

Still choosing. Still learning. Still us.