When I was growing up, my brother had a subscription to National Geographic. One issue included an article about snow monkeys (more properly known as Japanese macaques, or Macaca fuscaca). Looking at the pictures of them sitting in hot springs with frost in their hair, I thought to myself, “Snow monkeys know what the good life is.”

Many years later, I mentioned my admiration for snow monkeys to Zgirl, whom I had just started dating. She bought me a Wild Republic snow monkey named Takumi as a Christmas present (it took her a lot of work to track it down). Then she bought me another Wild Republic snow monkey named Akina.

I’m now married to Zgirl. I still have the snow monkeys that she gave me, and I still admire the snow monkey way of life.