26 Reasons Why I Love My Wife

I decided to turn this post into a page.  This way it will be easy to find when I make my wife mad and need to diffuse any anger that may be directed toward me.

(From August 17, 2008)

I love my wife.  We’ve been married for 26 years and it appears (at least to me) that she still loves me.  Since we just celebrated our 26th anniversary, I thought I would offer 26 reasons why I love my wife (in no particular order):

1. She loves me.
2. She lets me love her.
3. She is funny (important to me).
4. She thinks I’m funny (well… I tend to repeat jokes and stories, so she may not think as much of the material).
5. She is very bright (math is a strength for her, not so much for me).
6. She is very organized.
7. She drives the car when we go around town (a very big deal, since I drive two-and-a-half hours each day for work).
8. She actually likes to mow the lawn (she considers it an opportunity to exercise).
9. She loves to read (she probably reads more than I do).
10. She likes to do the Jumble in the paper everyday.
11. She is still a stunner (no one else has ever gotten my attention like she has).
12. She takes good care of herself, but is not self-absorbed about her looks.
13. She is detail oriented (I’m a big picture person, so we complement each other’s strengths).
14. She is a great friend (I don’t have all that many).
15. She is patient (important when dealing with me).
16. She is a great cook (as evidenced by my middle-age girth).
17. She is very independent (as am I, so we are good at leaving each other alone, when necessary).
18. She doesn’t like me to bring her flowers (she sees it as a waste of money).
19. She is the same about cards for special occasions (for years we have gone to a card store, looked at them, picked one out, showed it to the other person, then said something like ”If I were going to buy a card – this is the one I would have bought you”).
20. She doesn’t mind it if I occasionally buy her expensive jewelry.
21. She is thrifty, but not cheap (except the time she bought this generic Peptic Bismuth stuff - ouch!).
22. She doesn’t seem to mind when I bring up the Peptic Bismuth stuff.
23. She likes the same kind of movies that I do.
24. She is compassionate towards those less fortunate than we are.
25. She is a great mom to our kids.
26. She actually loves me (I know, I used it to start, but it still surprises me).

Below is one of my favorite photos – from my doctoral graduation in 2007.  She is obviously standing on a bench since she is 5′2″ and I am 6′7″ tall.

One of my favorite photos of us (2007)