Special thanks once again to rojie for today’s prompt. if you haven’t done so already definitely check out her blog justrojie.com
What hill would I die on that nobody else would understand or want to understand?
Lately, a lot of what I write here circles back to my relationship with Sierra. If there’s a hill I’m ready to die on right now that outsiders might not fully grasp, it’s us—this connection we’ve built. Well, obviously she doesn’t need to understand it from the outside because she’s right there in it with me, but you know what I mean.
We’re at that stage where we’re comparing schedules, figuring out availability, and slowly starting to weave each other into our respective family orbits. I’m genuinely excited to meet Sierra’s parents and her daughter. I can’t quite say I feel the exact same level of ease about having Sierra meet my family, though.
And that’s no reflection on Sierra. I’m certainly not embarrassed of her—if anything, it’s the reverse. Between my mom’s declining mental capacities and the understandable exhaustion from past relationships ending, my family tends to view any new chapter through a lens of cautious skepticism, almost as if it’s just another temporary phase. Take the kids, for instance: I’m excited for Sierra to meet Kid 1, but introducing her to Kid 2 brings more baggage. Having introduced past partners to Kid 2 only for those relationships to eventually dissolve leaves you a bit shell-shocked. You hesitate to put a kid through a revolving door, even when you know this time is different. Yet, ironically, Kid 2 will likely be the first member of my family that Sierra actually meets.
I bring all of this up because it’s my current reality, but it points to a much broader truth about what love actually demands of us.
When you truly love somebody, you have to completely lower your guard, strip away your defenses, and expose your unprotected heart to them. How can you really love someone if you aren’t completely letting them in? But true vulnerability goes hand-in-hand with an absolute, “in-the-trenches” partnership.
For me, being in love means that behind closed doors, we can be entirely honest with each other. We can debate, argue, or tell the other person when we think their approach to a situation with their family or a child is dead wrong. We share our true opinions because we trust each other implicitly. But the moment we walk out that door together, the dynamic shifts entirely: we are a unified front. Even if I think she’s handling something the wrong way, she has my dying support—and I have hers. I will stand right beside her, take a bullet for her, and back her 100% in her endeavor, even if it fails spectacularly.
That absolute alignment is a hill that people on the outside looking in simply cannot comprehend. They might get a superficial understanding of a disagreement, but they don’t feel the depth of that loyalty because they aren’t right there in the fire with you.
It’s why I always go back to the idea that being in love is a lot like being in The Matrix. No one can really tell you what it is or what it costs; you have to experience it for yourself. And right now, loving Sierra is the hill I’m on.
Rebuilding a life takes grit, consistency, and a lot of ‘Option C’ thinking. Having crossed the 1,000-day milestone, I’m now charting the territory beyond. The mission remains the same: No glitz. Just the work. New to the blog? Start your journey here to see the blueprint and the ‘Tricorder’ perspective behind the rebuild.
Today’s post is inspired by the WordPress Daily Prompt. While I’ve taken the topic in my own direction for the Road beyond 1,000 Days, you can find more responses to today’s prompt HERE.
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The article “The Hill We Die On”first appeared on Rebuilding Rob
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