36 Reasons

We have spent more than 1/3 of our lives together. 

Today, you turn 36 years old, Rich. In honor of your 36th year on earth, here are just 36 of the many reasons I love you: 

36. You do an impeccable job re-loading the dishwasher after I load it. 

35. You didn't rub it in my face too much when you got into Mensa...and I didn't. 

34. You love pun jokes even more than me. 

33. You walk our oldest son to the bus stop every morning.

32. You make my momma's own homemade carrot cake for me for my birthday each year  because you know it's my favorite...and I know it's quite the labor of love.

31. You traded in your dream car when we found out we were having a baby. 

30. You aren't afraid to tell the people you love that you love them, and do it daily.

29. You are a steadfast, loyal, dependable friend.

28. You know how much I value my girlfriends and never hesitate to support any girls night outs that come along.

27. You are a man of great faith and the spiritual leader of our family: reading your Bible and praying with me every morning before we start our days.

26. You are an avid Clemson fan and rarely miss a home game.

25. You are not afraid to speak your mind and stand up for what you believe in.

24. You said, "Yes!" so many years ago when I asked you to follow me to a rural camp in New Hampshire to spend the summer working with troubled children.

23. You tell me I look pretty, out of the blue, just because. 

22. You rock, and sing to, our youngest son before putting him to bed each night.

21. You support my loves of Pure Barre, writing, and taking a million pictures of our children each day.

20. You are a wonderful son who respects and loves his parents...and mine, too.

19. You are ambitious and hardworking in all that you do, including providing financial stability for our family, cleaning our cars, coaching our son's sports teams, and participating in our LifeGroup.

18. You tell our daughter she is beautiful every single day. 

17. You bring me flowers on random occasions. 

16. You care deeply about our community and create charitable fundraisers to support those in need. 

15. You treat my siblings as your own and enjoy spending time with them.

14. You make the most delicious crab legs.

13. You value the time you have with our children, making them a priority from the moment you are done with work until the moment they go to bed. 

12. You take care of our crazy, little, 12-year-old pup.

11. You watch reality tv with me, dare I say even enjoying a few shows now?

10. You make and bring me my coffee every morning. 

9. You value your health, waking up and working out early, 4 to 5 days a week, with F3.

8. You drive on 99% of the car trips we take--I'm sure this has nothing to do with the fact that you think you're a better driver than me. 

7. You make it a point to budget for our family, and, well, take care of all of our finances since I am not the brightest star in the sky in that domain.

6. You are almost as competitive as me.

5. You make eggs for our two littlest every morning so that they can start the day off with a healthy meal. 

4. You pull out my chair for me at church each Sunday. 

3. You are the kind of dad I could have only dreamed that my children would have one day.

2. You are my best friend.

1. You are my hub, for better or for worse, for year after year, for birthday after birthday. 

Happy 36th, babe. I love you.