39 things i love about you

(in honor of winn's 39th birthday today, i've compiled a special list.)

here you go, babe. happy birthday. you're my favorite.

1. you have one of the greatest minds of the 19th century. ok, so i told you that early in our marriage (proving once and for all that the same is not true of me, but in my defense, i was drunk on love, and it was the 1990's which can be confusing as far as centuries go), and even though i might not stand by the exact original statement, i do find the way you think and question and ponder everything pretty amazing.

2. the "i'm one handsome son of a gun" facial expression you make in the mirror when you know i'm watching you--cracks me up every time.

3. you know how to laugh and how to cry. i love that in a man.

4. you are so careful with how we save and spend our money. i don't always appreciate that in the moment (when I really want to get a rug that daisy hasn't chewed up or whatever), but it makes it possible for us to live in much healthier ways than we would if i were the chairperson of our budget committee.

5. the way you get on the floor and wrestle with wyatt and seth. and read to them. and tell them stories. and play ball with them in the backyard. and just basically love them with your whole heart.

6. ummm, that we have a wyatt and a seth.

7. i feel safer with you than i do with anyone else on the planet.

8. you take things to heart. words, people, places and ideas really matter to you.

9. your faith in God is deep and wide and inviting and compelling.

10. when i wake up in the morning with scary hair, bad breath and puffy eyes, you still find me totally irresistible.

11. how proud you are of yourself when you repair something in our house.

12. those times you come home and find me engrossed in a book when there's clearly at least an inch of dust on all our furniture and piles and piles of laundry, you don't see all the stuff that needs to be done and how i could have (should have) used my time to do them. you just see me doing something i love, and it makes you glad.

13. your "winnisms": the way you say "munsters" instead of monsters and "walcome" instead of "welcome" and "i might would" instead of "i might" or "i would," etc. ok, you caught me; i don't actually love your grammatical shenanigans, but i do find them endearing and funny.

14. your hands. (that's all i'd better say in this public forum. wink, wink.)

15. the relaxed, confident way you move into new situations and new places. you aren't immediately overwhelmed by everything like i am, and being with you teaches me to calm. the. hell. down.

16. you saw something in that scared, uptight, closed off girl i was when we met and first started dating that i didn't see in myself, and you've spent the past 16 years inviting the real me to emerge.

17. you pay attention to life.

18. you happily feed my addictions to things like candy, starbucks, diet coke and books, but you get in the way of my addiction to shame and guilt.

19. you really don't notice when i have a bad hair day or gain 5 pounds, but you daily notice the state of my heart.

20. you work so hard to take care of our family.

21. that light in your eye when you come up with a good idea.

22. your mouth. (see #14)

23. you walk on this earth with strength and boldness and humility.

24. you are fundamentally unable to lie to me, even if it's a "good" lie because you're trying to surprise me with something. you have too many tells. (or maybe i'm just that good. probably both.)

25. to paraphrase emily bronte, whatever our souls are made of, yours and mine are the same.

26. you like to slow down and take the scenic route.

27. you are trustworthy in every way.

28. you know how to savor life, how "to suck the marrow" out of it.

29. you had me at hello, and you make me want to be a better person. for reals.

30. if i'm craving some particular food or drink, you will gladly go out and get it at any time of the day or night.

31. you believe in me.

32. the way you smell, even when you're sweaty. love it.

33. how excited you get when college football starts up every fall.

34. how you keep up with politics, sports, our finances, theology, your 3 jobs, people's stories, my crap, the details of wyatt and seth's days and a hundred other things. amazing.

35. your voice. the whole of my being responds to your voice.

36. i *heart* the way you dance, especially that move i like to refer to as "the toy soldier" but i think you intend to be some version of the robot. classic.

37. you're not afraid to make a scene in a public place. i roll my eyes and get embarrassed, but i secretly love it. i love the winsomeness and humor that compels you in times like those, and i love that you keep showing me it's ok to be silly.

38. your heart is generous and wise.

39. i could hang out with you all day every day, and it still wouldn't be enough.