I’m laughing to myself right now because Stephanie has no idea that I’m “hijacking” her blog with this post. LOL
To all of Stephanie’s regular readers, this is her husband Phil. In honor of Mother’s Day, I wanted to do this post as a meager attempt to pay her back for the
awesome post she did about me a couple of weeks ago. Man, I have a good wife. :)
I really could make this list go on ad infinitum, but I’m choosing ten of the most stand-out reasons for the sake of (or at least the intention of) brevity. So, here goes…
1. She is my absolute best friend in the whole world. This counts to me probably more than anything else, so I figure it’s a good place to start. Stephanie & I started our relationship as friends. We were friends for 2 years, and then dated for 2 years, and then we got married. Through all of our ups and downs (and there have been some), the one thing that has never changed is the fact that she is my ace, my “running buddy”, the one who I know will ALWAYS have my back. She truly is the most loyal person I know. I value our friendship more than I can put into words.
2. She is an AWESOME mom to our kids. Believe me, whatever great things people may see in our children, whether it’s their manners, intelligence, etc., it’s not by accident; it is largely due to Stephanie’s involvement with them. I have seen her go to near-unimaginable lengths to make sure that they have what they need to have, that they learn what they need to learn, and that they become the children that she & I desire them to become.
I have to tell a quick story regarding this point: A couple of Halloweens ago, our kids both remarked that they wanted to wear Princess Celestia costumes (My Little Pony fans, unite!). We couldn’t find any in the stores—to this day I’m still not sure if they even make them. Do you know what my wife did? She studied pictures (and our girls’ action figure) of Princess Celestia and literally made the costumes from scratch. She created the crowns, the colorful hair, the “hoof guards” (I guess that’s what they are), and everything else. She had to measure our girls like a tailor to get it done. She’s not even a “seamstress” per se, but just her love for our children would not allow her to rest until she had hand-made those costumes for them. Here’s a picture of how they turned out:
Of course, there’s so much more to this point than I have time or space to get into here. She thrives on teaching our kids, and our kids have truly thrived under her instruction. She is truly amazing to watch.
Which leads me (in a double-entendre kind of way) to my next point…
3. She is SUPER-HOT. In order to maintain this blog’s “G” rating, I’ll just leave it at that.
4. She has a great attitude. This actually puzzled me when I was first getting to know her, because I was such a natural skeptic. She is always solution-minded and has always seen the glass half-full. This is one of the most attractive qualities about her in my mind. She doesn’t wallow in self-pity. She keeps the train moving, even when she doesn’t feel emotionally up to the task. She’s a trooper. I’ve learned so much from her in this area.
5. She is her own person. She’s not afraid to stand out. She’s not afraid to have an alternate opinion. She doesn’t mind if people disagree with her. She prefers to maintain her personal integrity and honesty instead of being a people-pleaser. She’s not a blind trend-follower. She has a mind of her own. This is extremely attractive to me…I would hate to be married to a Stepford wife.
Hey, this actually ties in with my next point…
6. Even when we fight, I’m madly in love with her. I’m telling the truth. The reason for this is because we have an understanding. I know deep down that the only reason she may be bringing something negative about me to my attention is because she has a genuine loyalty to me, and to our relationship. If she didn’t give a rat’s behind about the direction we were headed as a couple, she wouldn’t fight. But when she does, I know it’s coming from a place of sincerity. Not a place of trying to “one-up” each other, but a place of wanting the relationship to get better. This is a critical point in my mind. We both know that we’re in this for life. We tussle, and then we get over it, and keep moving on. Sometimes we have actually busted out laughing right in the middle of a spat. LOL
7. She is a passionate person. In a world full of people that simply don’t care, this quality of hers really stands out to me. She puts her all into whatever she sets her mind to do. When she began to get serious about blogging, she would be up at all times of the night, perfecting posts, pinning photos, tweeting on Twitter, etc. etc. She has always been able to run circles around me. I’m more of a thinker, an analyzer, a planner, and she’s just simply more of a doer. To me, apathy is one of the great sins of our generation. She is far from apathetic. She loves hard and she works hard.
8. She supports me. She gives me the space to make decisions without henpecking everything to death. There have been times when she knew that I wasn’t fully thinking something through, and although she would tell me her honest opinion, she would still give me the space to do what was in my heart. On the occasions where my own plans blew up in my face (which they have quite a few times), she wouldn’t rub it in or go the “I-told-you-so” route. She would simply help me pick up the pieces and roll with me to the next venture.
9. She is an honest person. Probably one of the most honest people you’ll ever meet. This is similar to point # 5 in my mind, but I wanted to add a little something extra here. She exalts truth. She believes in dealing honestly with people. She doesn’t placate. She doesn’t patronize. She leans towards telling people what they need to hear instead of what they want to hear. This is a very attractive quality to me. I don’t have to wonder if she’s hiding something, or suppressing her real feelings. She simply tells the truth. It reminds me of that old saying: “Always tell the truth. That way, you won’t have to remember what you said.”
10. She can COOK!!! This could definitely take the top spot if I think long enough about it. She can bake cakes that are out of this world. She can try cooking a particular dish for the first time and absolutely nail it. I’ve seen her do this over & over again. They always say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. I can’t lie…there’s a whole lot of merit to that statement.
So anyway, I just wanted to wish Stephanie a Happy Mother’s Day, and just let the whole wide internet know why I love her so much. I love you baby!!!!!
This is so sweet. Such lovely sentiments.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!
ReplyDelete