John Restivo Jr.

Today marks 4 years of Saja and I being together and last night I got to bear witness to something truly remarkable that makes me realize just exactly how lucky I am to be on the receiving end of her love and to be by her side in this life.

Last night was the inaugural @maqluba_zine release and it was a success on every level. Saja and my brother in law Justin spent months putting together this fantastic collection of artwork and poetry from Palestinian artists in the Atlanta area, herself included, and then Saja took on the monumental task of putting together an event to release the debut issue where her goal was to raise money for @thepcrf and spotlight Middle Eastern businesses and artists. She has never hosted or curated an event like this - in addition to the three poets showcasing their work she had over a dozen local businesses and several organizations tabling as well as an exquisite art gallery she curated and a candlelight vigil. There were hundreds of people there and all but 7 copies of the zine sold. I was beside myself last night watching her realize her potential. I am so, so lucky to have found someone who is not only so talented, artistic, driven, compassionate, delicate, intelligent, thoughtful, and generous but someone who uses those gifts to give back, to help people in need, to shine a light on artwork and businesses from marginalized people without taking or expecting anything in return, someone who believes in themselves and their ideas and humanity enough to take on a project like this purely for charity and execute it on such a grand scale. Saja has been cheering on my dreams and my ideas for even longer than we’ve been together and I was beaming last night to be a face in her crowd. It meant a lot to also have my parents in the crowd so they could witness what a stunning and powerful woman I have in my life. To say I am proud of her is an understatement. I am mesmerized by her. This is just one anecdote of an ever expanding novel I could write on how special Saja is but I feel compelled to share this major accomplishment of hers because she deserves to know how great she is.

I love you Saja! Happy anniversary! 🥰
@mother_hunger__