Thank you, littlepetra for the prompt idea!
My mom told me a story once, when I was little, about a king who tried to measure his daughters' love for him by what they compared him to. One said he was like the sun that gave them life and heat. The other said he was like the moon than guided their steps at night. The youngest compared him to salt, and was sent away from him, because she clearly did not love him enough. Of course, in the fable, he later learnt how much difference salt makes in a meal.
I hadn't thought about this story for many years, but now I find that it's been crossing my mind quite frequently. Especially when I'm with her.
Because she makes me see that, for all my life, I settled simply for surviving. But in the end, it's not enough to have just what you need to eat and dress and keep a healthy body temperature and see where you walk.
What really matters, at the end of the day, is what allows you to taste your life, what makes it really good to live. And, whereas she might not be my sun or my moon, she's definitely my salt.