Thirty things I love about Josh Tate
(in no particular order)

1. I love the way his nose looks. I like the way it makes an arrow when he flares it. It points down like his disapproval. I like the way it looks with a smudge of dirt on it.
2. I love his questions. Like, "If all the creatures in the sea jumped all at once in perfect sync, would the water level drop noticeably?"
3. I love the way he smells. Like Old Spice.
4. I love that he likes how I look in sweatshirts and baseball caps, because...
5. He is easy to please.
6. I love how often he does dishes.
7. I love that he loves my cooking.
8. He has the greatest sense of humor.
9. My sister likes him. My mom likes him. I think everyone in my family loves him.
10. He tells amazing stories.
11. He is very creative.
12. I love his rhymes.
13. I love that he introduced me to the Widjiwats.
14. He tells me when I'm mean.
15. He tells me when I'm being too hard on myself.
16. Since our first days together, he has always told me some anecdote at just the moment when I am about to cry, and it is seamless and works perfectly to take my mind off of whatever is making me upset.
17. I love how he loves Jesus. (I love that his love is water and fertilizer to my loving Jesus.)
18. I love how he teaches my children to love Jesus.
19. I love what an excellent father he is. I love to see him with my children. (That's all part of the same thing.)
20. I love how dedicated he is to doing right.
21. I love the way he does anything for anyone who asks. He is generous with his time.
22. I love how hard working he is.
23. He is as loyal as a badger. Is a badger loyal? Well, he is very loyal, even to things like Pepsi and toothpaste brands.
24. I love that I saw him go from boy to man. I love that so much of his past is our past.
25. I love that he loves his family. I love to hear him talk to his brothers. I love that he loves my family.
26. I love how well he can argue. (Incidentally, this is the first trait of his that drew me in. He is no sophist. He is passionate.)
27. I love that many of the best things about Josh are evident when you first meet him.
28. I love how careful he is about taking care of our family.
29. I love that he loves me. I love that he loves the way I am, and more than that, I love that he likes me.
30. I love that he is my best friend, the person I feel most comfortable with, the person I most want to be near. I love that he feels comfortable with me. I love that talking to him is like talking to the best part of myself, that being with him makes every moment better and more. I love that knowing him has made me a better, more honest person. I love that he challenges me. I love that we are so different, or started out so different, but somehow have tempered each other. I love that being with Josh means that I can't stop growing.


Josh turns thirty tomorrow, January 11th. I could have gone on and on, and I thought that it would be harder, but somehow finding thirty things that I love about Josh was as easy as getting myself a drink of water. What did I leave out? What will I kick myself for not writing?

Don't you know I love you, Joshua Tate? Happy birthday.