In Honor Of Our Anniversary

10 Things I Love About My Husband:

1. His smile, which was the first thing I ever saw him wearing. It seems that his soul shines through that smile
2. His adventurousness, which makes for great vacations
3. His talkativeness. He can talk about anything. We just had a 45-minute conversation about Hitler with interruptions here and there to talk about orthodonture
4. His brilliant mind, which possesses knowledge about everything from thread count to historical debates to the names of 50 shades of brown to how to design and build an airplane
5. His sometimes blond, sometimes brown hair, which is so fun to toussle
6. His connection with nature, which makes us feel like we're making breakthrough discoveries each time we walk through our yard
7. His singing voice. Nothing sounds better than hearing him sing to Gabriel
8. His balance between childish enjoyment of life and adult wisdom and responsibility. We may do the New York Times crossword puzzle in the morning and then play a video game at night
9. His patience, which he needs with me as a wife
10. His generosity. Pregnancy was so easy because he made breakfast, lunch, and dinner just about every day, as well as almost all of the housework, so I could get my rest. And I never even asked.
11. +1: The way he inspires by example. He teaches me about being a good spouse and a good parent every day

10 Things I Love About My Wife

1. Her freckles, which stole my heart
2. Her dedication to her task, whatever it may be, that makes it impossible for her to give up until the job is done (and done right)
3. Her brilliant mind, which seems to know something about everything on Earth and well beyond.
4. The way she always seems to know exactly what I need, when I need it, without me having to say a single word or make a single gesture.
5. The way she can switch from mother to wife in an instant, and is always eager to be a wife first.
6. Her amazingly inquisitive nature and the way she asks questions about everything
7. That she loves baseball, puts up with my rants about Michigan football (mostly), and most importantly keeps my perspective on what is really important.
8. Her musical talent, which she greatly downplays.
9. That she never, ever, needs make-up to look gorgeous and that she is so uncomplicated.
10. Her absolute and never ending patience with me and my quirks.
11. +1: Her adventurousness, which can turn even a routine trip to the store into an exploration of places we've never seen before.

p.s. Neither of us knew the other had actually listed 11 things. Guess that's #12: we think alike.

p.p.s. Amazing parallel between our #1s and #3s. Huh.