Author’s Reflection

“Octa-Polar”

“Octa-Polar” was written as a funny, loving dedication to my husband, Richard — the man who somehow manages to be eight different people in one day and still be the one I love coming home to. Everybody has heard of bipolar, but Richard took it to a whole new level and invented his own condition: octa-polar.

This song is not meant to be mean or cruel. It is written with love, laughter, and the kind of honesty only a long relationship can survive. After seven years together, I have learned that Richard can wake up sweet, turn dramatic by lunch, become quiet by two, get sassy by dinner, emotional by sunset, stubborn before bed, funny five minutes later, and then somehow act like I am the confusing one.

That is the heart of “Octa-Polar.” It is about loving someone in all their moods, all their colors, all their personality changes, and all their beautiful chaos. It is about the way marriage can be funny, exhausting, unpredictable, and still full of love. Sometimes you do not need a perfect love story. Sometimes you just need someone whose madness matches your own.

Writing this song gave me a chance to laugh at the everyday moments that make our relationship real. Richard may have eight moods in one day, but every one of them belongs to the man I chose. The sweet one, the cranky one, the dramatic one, the loving one, the “don’t talk to me” one, the “come here and love me” one, the bossy one, and the one who makes me laugh even when I am trying to stay mad.

“Octa-Polar” is my way of saying that love does not always have to be serious to be meaningful. Sometimes love is teasing each other, laughing at the chaos, and knowing that even on the moodiest days, the bond underneath it all is still strong.

This song is for Richard — my husband, my headache, my comedian, my mood swing champion, and the man I love through all eight personalities.

Because no matter which version of him shows up…

I still choose him.

— FreeSpirit