beloved
I was told repeatedly in the lead up to my wedding that marriage is the best way to study in detail everything which annoys you about your spouse.
This was correct. Being married gave me a unique opportunity to be irritated by Z's hypochondria, the incorrect way in which he serves tea, the rictus of pain which crosses his features when he is forced to admit he was wrong about something, and the romantic limitations he suffers from which frequently lead to outbreaks of Foot In Mouth Disease. For his part I have amply incensed my husband with my charming habit of leaving a trail of dirty cups and plates scattered throughout the house like my own version of Hansel and Gretel, my sensitivity and shifting moods and propensity for overanalysing his statements as well as for not treating his health issues with the gravity and respect he feels they deserve. (On the other hand, how can you respond seriously to the health beliefs of a man who says 'It's miraculous how well I am functioning today considering I've had to medicate myself' when he has ingested two Lemsips).
But being married also made me appreciate all the many ways in which he is amazing, so without further ado here are 31 Wonderful Things About My Husband:
*He is funny. Hilarious actually. So funny that I forgive him his inability to express emotions of love or romance unless he can couch them in comic terms.
*He is generous and gives amazing, thoughtful gifts.
* He is honest and down to earth.
*He exudes a certain pleasant RARRRR MANLEE! energy while at the same time thinking nothing of representing his cyberself with a kitten icon.
*He is incredibly capable and handy. It's like living with Mr. Fixit. He has installed pretty much 90% of furniture and light fixtures in our house.
*"That's professional" is his highest expression of praise.
*He has wonderful hands - wide, capable, strong, with trimmed nails and one of the most beautiful voices on planet earth.
*He is a friendly and social creature, game to try and settle into any situation.
* Although he sucks at expressing his emotions verbally, he will work hard to pour all his love into his actions. This is the man who will happily invest hours and hours and weekends of his time doing any house project I think is pretty and will cook up and serve elaborate beautiful meals without any grumblage whatsoever.
*He managed to ride motorcycles daily for over a decade without having an accident, but broke both of his arms while riding a bike.
*He was an amazing source of support throughout my whole pregnancy and labour. I did not have to lift anything heavier than a spoon for eight months while he took one for the team and dragged 80lbs of our luggage up about 2000 steep stone steps in Dubrovnik in blistering sun and 40Celsius heat.
*He is loyal and rocklike in his commitment. Z will work hard as an ox, and pour all of himself in response to the words 'I need you'.
*He sold his motorbike so I could have an independent midwife to look after me in pregnancy, labour and crazed early motherhood.
*He turned down dozens of social invitations in order to help me cope with the baby.
* When I'm with him I feel amazingly safe. It's like walking around with a bodyguard.
*He has wonderful eyes whose colour shifts constantly from blue to grey to green.
*He is deeply courteous and respectful. Within a man who can compare his wife to a table rests a deeply sensitive core.
*He is fairly easygoing and optimistic and genial which is a lovely contrast to my more temperamental nature.
*He thinks nothing of causing a public scene and standing up to defend me if he thinks someone is giving me a hard time regardless of the fact that I can cope rather well on my own. The time when I got happy slapped at the busstop he was aglow with rage and the urge to hunt the evildoers down. He makes a thousand small protective gestures like reaching out to steady me if we are going down a path he considers in any way steep/slippery/dodgy, he walks in first into an unkown sea to scout it for perils and hangs onto my waist when I get tired in a strong current, he always places me on the more sheltered side of any situation/place/road.
*When we were courting he brought me the first rose which bloomed in his garden. He wrapped it in a paper funnel to protect it against wind damage since he was bringing it through the medium of motorcycle although it didn't work that well and he ended up giving me a stem with about two petals on it, but I appreciated the gesture all the same.
*One time when he was in Paris for training he paid for a Eurostar ticket for me so that I could come and visit him for the weekend.
*He has a beautiful broad back and olive toned skin which smells of sunlight.
*He can lift our baby with one hand.
*He is both honest and a terrible liar.
*He abhors users and parasites.
*He has a strong need to be independent and self-reliant. He put himself through University in England while working as a courier and pizza delivery man by nights in order to earn a living.
*He is game for pretty much anything, especially if it involves travel.
*He adores his son.
*He agreed that if we have a second son in the future, that child will have my last name.
*He is the person in whom I place my deepest faith.
Happy two years of marriage baby! I still love you and in the beautiful spirit of enduring romance I officially totally forgive you for that one time when you compared me to a mole.
xxxx
This was correct. Being married gave me a unique opportunity to be irritated by Z's hypochondria, the incorrect way in which he serves tea, the rictus of pain which crosses his features when he is forced to admit he was wrong about something, and the romantic limitations he suffers from which frequently lead to outbreaks of Foot In Mouth Disease. For his part I have amply incensed my husband with my charming habit of leaving a trail of dirty cups and plates scattered throughout the house like my own version of Hansel and Gretel, my sensitivity and shifting moods and propensity for overanalysing his statements as well as for not treating his health issues with the gravity and respect he feels they deserve. (On the other hand, how can you respond seriously to the health beliefs of a man who says 'It's miraculous how well I am functioning today considering I've had to medicate myself' when he has ingested two Lemsips).
But being married also made me appreciate all the many ways in which he is amazing, so without further ado here are 31 Wonderful Things About My Husband:
*He is funny. Hilarious actually. So funny that I forgive him his inability to express emotions of love or romance unless he can couch them in comic terms.
*He is generous and gives amazing, thoughtful gifts.
* He is honest and down to earth.
*He exudes a certain pleasant RARRRR MANLEE! energy while at the same time thinking nothing of representing his cyberself with a kitten icon.
*He is incredibly capable and handy. It's like living with Mr. Fixit. He has installed pretty much 90% of furniture and light fixtures in our house.
*"That's professional" is his highest expression of praise.
*He has wonderful hands - wide, capable, strong, with trimmed nails and one of the most beautiful voices on planet earth.
*He is a friendly and social creature, game to try and settle into any situation.
* Although he sucks at expressing his emotions verbally, he will work hard to pour all his love into his actions. This is the man who will happily invest hours and hours and weekends of his time doing any house project I think is pretty and will cook up and serve elaborate beautiful meals without any grumblage whatsoever.
*He managed to ride motorcycles daily for over a decade without having an accident, but broke both of his arms while riding a bike.
*He was an amazing source of support throughout my whole pregnancy and labour. I did not have to lift anything heavier than a spoon for eight months while he took one for the team and dragged 80lbs of our luggage up about 2000 steep stone steps in Dubrovnik in blistering sun and 40Celsius heat.
*He is loyal and rocklike in his commitment. Z will work hard as an ox, and pour all of himself in response to the words 'I need you'.
*He sold his motorbike so I could have an independent midwife to look after me in pregnancy, labour and crazed early motherhood.
*He turned down dozens of social invitations in order to help me cope with the baby.
* When I'm with him I feel amazingly safe. It's like walking around with a bodyguard.
*He has wonderful eyes whose colour shifts constantly from blue to grey to green.
*He is deeply courteous and respectful. Within a man who can compare his wife to a table rests a deeply sensitive core.
*He is fairly easygoing and optimistic and genial which is a lovely contrast to my more temperamental nature.
*He thinks nothing of causing a public scene and standing up to defend me if he thinks someone is giving me a hard time regardless of the fact that I can cope rather well on my own. The time when I got happy slapped at the busstop he was aglow with rage and the urge to hunt the evildoers down. He makes a thousand small protective gestures like reaching out to steady me if we are going down a path he considers in any way steep/slippery/dodgy, he walks in first into an unkown sea to scout it for perils and hangs onto my waist when I get tired in a strong current, he always places me on the more sheltered side of any situation/place/road.
*When we were courting he brought me the first rose which bloomed in his garden. He wrapped it in a paper funnel to protect it against wind damage since he was bringing it through the medium of motorcycle although it didn't work that well and he ended up giving me a stem with about two petals on it, but I appreciated the gesture all the same.
*One time when he was in Paris for training he paid for a Eurostar ticket for me so that I could come and visit him for the weekend.
*He has a beautiful broad back and olive toned skin which smells of sunlight.
*He can lift our baby with one hand.
*He is both honest and a terrible liar.
*He abhors users and parasites.
*He has a strong need to be independent and self-reliant. He put himself through University in England while working as a courier and pizza delivery man by nights in order to earn a living.
*He is game for pretty much anything, especially if it involves travel.
*He adores his son.
*He agreed that if we have a second son in the future, that child will have my last name.
*He is the person in whom I place my deepest faith.
Happy two years of marriage baby! I still love you and in the beautiful spirit of enduring romance I officially totally forgive you for that one time when you compared me to a mole.
xxxx