For our first wedding anniversary, the traditional gift is paper so I composed and printed this list for my husband. 366 reasons I love my husband: one for every day of the year, including leap years.
1. You once said that if you had to choose between me and tacos, you’d deal with the loss of tacos.
2. You listen to me talk about things you don’t care about.
3. You crawl into bed and snuggle up to me and stroke my hair.
4. You love Oreo as if she’s been yours all along. (And she loves you back just as much.)
5. We’re great together in the kitchen. You help me enjoy cooking.
6. You saw R.E.M. with me not just once, but twice – and I know you’ll go again whenever they tour.
7. You support my love of cheese.
8. You’re an unapologetic Trekkie. . .
9. And you made me like Star Trek!
10. You will explain something to me until I understand it.
11. You let me show you the way to new jeans and sneakers.
12. You let me drive most of time.
13. You also let me hold the remote control most of the time.
14. You rarely remember to make the bed. (Okay, this doesn’t make me love you, but it makes me remind myself that I love you anyway.)
15. You went to go see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince twice with me because you knew I couldn’t wait the two weeks for IMAX.
16. You went to see Twilight with me on our honeymoon… and actually enjoyed it.
17. Whenever I think about our first date, I smile . . .
18. And then I think, “Mmm… yeah.” …
19. And then I think about our second date. I definitely love you for our second date (all 12+ hours of it).
20. Not only don’t you put up with my negative body image issues – you actively work to combat them.
21. You watch many of “my” television shows with me and actually enjoy them.
22. You’re always trying to get me to wear less make-up because you say I don’t need it.
23. You have awesome friends… and now they’re my awesome friends, too.
24. When you leave the apartment, you double lock the door, even though I’m sitting four feet away and can lock it myself after you leave. It makes me feel like it’s one more thing you do to keep me safe.
25. You laughed with me when the wind was blowing snot out of our noses at the Wright brothers memorial on our honeymoon.
26. You support me when I want to have a lazy day.
27. You’re going to be the father of my child(ren).
28. You order/build/fix/handle all computer issues.
29. You actually listen and work to understand when I talk about my schoolwork.
30. You’ve turned me into someone who likes snuggling and says “I love you” regularly.
31. I never have to worry about any car issues.
32. We never have to hide purchases from each other.
33. In some ways, you’re a much kinder person than I am.
34. We can discuss politics fairly, even when we disagree.
35. You taught me how to argue constructively . . .
36. And you never let me win; I have to earn it.
37. Even though you sometimes make silly face when playing guitar, you still look great doing it.
38. You have the mind of a scientist and a musician.
39. You love to learn.
40. I love beating you at Wii hockey.
41. I love that you love to hold hands (and made me love holding hands).
42. You encourage me to be myself with your family.
43. I love that I get to call you my husband.
44. I love hearing you say, “My wife…”
45. You laugh at me when I cry over sappy things because you know I hate crying over sappy things.
46. I love that I have a designated driver for life.
47. I love that you miss me, even if I saw you a few hours ago.
48. I love how you get even more handsome with every grey hair that comes in.
49. I love that you help me have confidence that we’ll weather any storm.
50. I love that you carry a man bag – unapologetically.
51. I love the way you say, “Baby.”
52. I love hearing you talk to Oreo.
53. I love that you nicknamed our baby The Force.
54. I love that you can tell me when you’re worried or scared.
55. I love how you squee at cute Yorkies.
56. I love when you go out with your friends or to a gig and are okay if I don’t come along.
57. I love when we think of the same thing at the same time.
58. I love that you don’t complain about giving up your office so it can be the nursery.
59. I love waking up next to you.
60. You make me smile when I’m not in the mood to do so.
61. You don’t think I’m manipulating you if I cry. You know I just cry sometimes.
62. You snore like a beast.
63. You roll over when I tell you you’re snoring.
64. You’re really good at remembering to put the seat down.
65. You never eat the last of something without asking me first if I want it.
66. You deal with my super steamy hot shower water.
67. You (mostly) clean the bathroom when I ask you to (most of the time).
68. You don’t like most Italian foods. (This amuses me.)
69. But you share my love for garlic.
70. You are totally scared of spiders.
71. One day, I think you might actually build a potato gun. (And possibly practice on spiders.)
72. When you sleep alone, you take over the whole bed – and then deny that you ever do that.
73. You let me trim your eyebrows.
74. You like when I drive so you can look at me.
75. You chose baby green for the office, not even thinking how it’d be a nursery one day.
76. You have excellent grammar.
77. You think most models and actresses are too thin.
78. You know that most “plus-size” models aren’t actually plus-sized.
79. You aren’t seriously annoyed by my music, even if I’m listening to Britney Spears or showtunes.
80. You let me decide when I was ready to get engaged.
81. You cried when you saw me in my wedding dress.
82. You find nothing ridiculous about playing air guitar.
83. You are ridiculously terrible at telling stories.
84. You don’t care that I have your email password.
85. You’re really good at convincing me that a number of my worries are really silly.
86. You think farts are hysterical.
87. You own a hundred ringer tees.
88. You let me hog the blanket because you usually don’t want it anyway.
89. You think it’s funny when a woman hits on you.
90. You actually care about your own grooming, but aren’t prissy about it.
91. I love how your wedding ring looks on your hand.
92. And I love that you say you feel naked without it.
93. You introduce me to music I wouldn’t listen to otherwise.
94. You laugh out loud at and talk to television shows.
95. You actually ask me to nag you.
96. You give the best hugs.
97. You love Slapshot, the penguin I bought you.
98. You said you’d get tattoos with our children’s names.
99. You’re learning how to clean.
100. You try to get me to use Italian pronunciations.
101. If I’m upset, you interrupt whatever you’re doing to find out why and try to help.
102. You recognize my mood swings a mile away and react exactly as you should.
103. You love your camera.
104. You went to the Martha Stewart show with me.
105. Our first date was at Barnes & Noble.
106. You’re a great secret keeper because you have an awful memory.
107. Everyone I know buys Dr. Pepper if you’re coming over.
108. Chipotle.
109. You have good relationships with some of your ex’s (the non-crazy ones).
110. You don’t get angry when I describe how much I hate some of your favorite movies.
111. You are remarkably destructive to your pillows and I can’t figure out what you do to them.
112. You enjoy shopping more than I do a significant amount of the time.
113. You and my brother get along so awesomely.
114. You’re patient when I want to throw my computer.
115. You still don’t know where some of the dishes go.
116. You don’t laugh at me when I cry at things on TV.
117. You enjoy cuddling more than I do (which is to say you enjoy it, period).
118. You don’t agree with your family’s politics.
119. When you fall asleep in the car, your arm slips and you smack me in the back of the head. (I love this because it makes me chuckle a little every time.)
120. No matter how crazy things made us sometimes, you were unfailingly kind to my parents when we lived with them.
121. You don’t care what I say about your family.
122. You love to get wrapped up in details that no one else remotely cares about.
123. You never fall on ice.
124. You’re never cold.
125. You won’t watch CSI if I can’t watch it with you.
126. I’m pretty sure I beat you at arm wrestling once.
127. Then there’s that time I threw you out of bed – literally.
128. You shed more than Oreo.
129. You laughed at how much I peed when I was first pregnant.
130. You wanted to come to the first sonogram.
131. Your love for the Devils is unflappable.
132. You have beautiful eyes.
133. You’re terribly, amusingly ticklish.
134. You tell me I’m beautiful every day.
135. You tell me you love me every chance you get.
136. You bought me a Tom-Tom.
137. You grow a beard by 10am when you shaved at 9am.
138. You no longer have long hair.
139. You now eat tomatoes.
140. You’re willing to try anything I cook, even if you’re convinced you won’t like it.
141. You never give up on trying to get me to like sweet potatoes.
142. You’re totally hung up on what happens to places you used to work.
143. You found it funny that one time I read your Facebook email.
144. You announce that you have to go to the bathroom by saying, “I have to go, uh, yeah…” as you walk off with a magazine.
145. You love trivia just as much as I do.
146. You won’t let me delete my MySpace because our first emails are on there.
147. You helped plan every part of our wedding.
148. I’m never bored with you, even if we’re doing nothing.
149. I love the twinkle in your eye.
150. You do our taxes because I hate doing them.
151. We totally share bill-paying responsibilities.
152. We never remember what we fought about five minutes after the fight is over.
153. We talk everything out.
154. When there’s irresistible music on the television, you go get a guitar and play along.
155. You knew you wanted to marry me way before I was able to even spit out the word “marriage.”
156. You’re amused and impressed by how I drive in NYC.
157. We have no secrets.
158. You don’t make me watch scary movies.
159. You bought me a guitar.
160. You don’t care that I still can’t play it.
161. You randomly stick your tongue out.
162. You love making funny voices at babies.
163. You not only support my career – you’re proud of it.
164. You only notice the dirty bathroom floor at 4am, when you’re too tired to clean it.
165. You’ll put a dirty dish in the sink .3 seconds after I tell you the dishwasher is empty or dirty.
166. Holding your hand feels like holding onto an extension of myself.
167. When we’re walking somewhere, you automatically stick your arm out to seek for my hand.
168. You only buy sneakers in black or grey.
169. When you see something you want, you say, “I can has??” and it’s actually not annoying.
170. You want to get semi-matching penguin tattoos.
171. You use proper grammar and punctuation in text messages and IMs.
172. I love that you push me to get out of my comfort zone…
173. But you never make me do anything I don’t really want to do.
174. I love that you’re excited to come to all the sonogram appointments.
175. You could eat Chinese or Mexican food every day.
176. I love the look in your eye when you have a naughty thought.
177. I love how you think spending $5 on a magazine for yourself is a big deal.
178. You don’t usually freak out about things.
179. When you do freak out, you agree that you’re freaking out.
180. You make me laugh at things that I don’t want to find funny.
181. You think it’s funny that I don’t like a lot of comedies. (Is that ironic?)
182. You agreed that it was awesome and funny to have R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (and I feel fine)” as our entrance song for our wedding reception.
183. You made the wedding band learn “Maybe I’m Amazed.” I still cry every time it comes on the radio.
184. You said you’re ready to go for pickles and ice cream at 2am whenever I ask.
185. I can’t get you to wear anything other than tighty whities. (I mean, really?)
186. And white sports socks.
187. You’ve moved from ringer tees to graphic tees.
188. What I get upset about, you tend to be relaxed about and vice versa.
189. You are nearly annoyingly precise when it comes to hanging curtain rods…
190. And pictures.
191. You bought me a toolkit.
192. You know that I don’t care about flowers and chocolate.
193. You visited me often when I moved away to grad school.
194. After your car died, you actually took the bus or train down.
195. You didn’t laugh at me when on Sundays I’d stand crying in the Greyhound station, not wanting you to leave.
196. You tear up but stay strong because you know if you cry, I cry more.
197. You make the best pasta sauce.
198. And you call it sauce, even though your family calls it gravy.
199. And you find it funny when I remind them it’s not brown.
200. When I need a hug, you give me one, no hesitation, no questions.
201. You don’t make too much fun of me for having learned to like cuddling sometimes.
202. You have more faith than I do that I can do something/anything.
203. You care whether or not I like your car.
204. Planning our wedding together was one of the most fun things I’ve ever done. Having you be completely involved made it that way.
205. You make me put down the laptop and kiss you.
206. You send me random smoochie text messages.
207. You never miss a chance to lord it over me that you knew we were meant to be and I was the slowpoke figuring it out.
208. When people make certain comments, we know what the other is thinking just by looking at each other…
209. And it’s often the same thing.
210. You told me you can see in my eyes that I already love our child.
211. I love you so much that I nearly cry when I have to leave for work in the morning and you’re still sleeping.
212. I know I can tell you absolutely anything. . .
213. Even if it’s naughty.
214. Or especially if it’s naughty. ;-)
215. You put ice-pops in your soda to keep it cold and undiluted.
216. You drain every little drop of salsa from the plastic cup of it Chipotle gives you.
217. You’re convinced that one day, if you try hard enough, I will enjoy Grandma’s Boy…
218. And Super Troopers.
219. And I love you because you’re still wrong about them.
220. It’s just as important to you as it is to me that if we have a girl, she’ll know how to stand up for and respect herself, as well as others.
221. It’s just as important to you as it is to me that if we have a boy, he’ll know what it means to respect women as equals and all people overall.
222. You say funny things like, “Monkeys” when you wake up.
223. You randomly say, “Pants” all the time.
224. You yell, “Go! Go! Go!” while playing Xbox hockey and laugh when Oreo runs out of the room.
225. You work for a pizzeria (yummmm).
226. You know better than to ever throw me a surprise party . . .
227. Or have waiters sing to me in a restaurant.
228. You held my hand when I walked into my bridal shower.
229. You never know what day it is.
230. You lose track of time like no one I’ve known before.
231. You don’t read my blog regularly . . .
232. Which means you really, really trust me . . .
233. And are a way better person than I am because if you had a blog, I’d be all over that thing.
234. You wanted to name the new puppy Tater. (No.)
235. You’re terrible at painting. . .
236. But you try. . .
237. And you’re not insulted when I do-over the parts you did.
238. You call me “muffin”. . .
239. Even though I hate muffins . . .
240. And you joke that that’s a good thing because otherwise I’d be committing cannibalism.
241. You can’t dance . . .
242. And you think it’s funny when you try.
243. I love your sense of humor more than I want to.
244. You never tell me what I want to hear –
245. You always tell me the truth.
246. We rarely get angry with each other . . .
247. And when we do, we don’t even remember why after five minutes.
248. You bought me tribbles.
249. I love when I’m cold and you offer me your hoodie.
250. I love that your first emails to me caught my eye because they were so well-written.
251. And you said I was cute.
252. I love falling asleep next to you.
253. You explain Hessians to me.
254. And “one if by land, two if by sea.”
255. And you don’t tease me too much for not knowing everything.
256. I love when you finish everything on a to-do list I leave you.
257. I love bragging about the things you can do (build guitars, computers, etc).
258. I love that you laugh every time I curse out a stupid driver.
259. I love that even Mike can’t convince you to drink.
260. I love that you don’t see the point of strippers.
261. You burp with pride . . .
262. And find it funny that I can’t burp on command.
263. I love how excited you were the first time we went to Baltimore together . . .
264. And when we flew to Oregon (your first plane ride).
265. I love that we love to go to museums and nerd out together.
266. I love that when it’s brisk, you run around the block with Oreo because she loves it.
267. I love how awful you are at folding laundry . . .
268. And how you never think to match the socks.
269. I love telling you about funny dreams I have.
270. I love visiting you at work. (You’re so cute when you’re working.)
271. I love that we openly acknowledge that we’ll have difficult times in our marriage and are both on board with how we’ll make it through.
272. I love when you wear your glasses.
273. You play footsie in your sleep.
274. I love that you can lose two hours reading Wikipedia.
275. I love when we sleep in on Sundays.
276. I love that you carry a bottle opener, even though you don’t drink beer.
277. I love that I don’t have to do anything cheesy to try and be sexy for you.
278. I love watching you play gigs.
279. I love how smart you are.
280. You hold my hand in your sleep.
281. I never worry about your loyalty.
282. When I hear a noise and ask you to check the closet for an intruder, you humor me.
283. You don’t make fun of my singing in the car.
284. You remember the details of what I wore on our first date, even though it was just jeans, a t-shirt, and flip-flops.
285. Being apart for just a day makes us miserable.
286. You are my own personal space heater.
287. You don’t always agree with your family, but as soon as they need you, you’re there for them.
288. You don’t have any hobbies that I would feel like I have to tolerate or put up with just because you like them (eg. fishing, golf, hunting).
289. You keep me from having a breakdown when we go in Home Depot or Lowe’s.
290. When I need something researched that I don’t have the patience for (the best new electronics or some household item), you are incredibly thorough at researching it for me.
291. You never yell at me (unless I yell at you first, oops).
292. You took your mom along the first time you went shopping for me.
293. You almost kept my birthday plans a total surprise this year.
294. You almost never remember to take out the garbage and recycling, but do it every time I remind you.
295. You don’t laugh too loud when I tell you I’m too scared to take something down to the basement.
296. You don’t pretend to be perfect.
297. You are sooooo very good in bed. Best I’ve ever had. (See how I snuck this in a random location in the list so maybe no one will notice this is here?)
298. You don’t end an IM conversation without telling me you love me.
299. You drink chocolate milk.
300. You help me be less uptight.
301. You’re not vain.
302. When the doorbell rings early in the morning and I don’t want to answer it, you get up.
303. You’re much better at remembering our anniversary than I am.
304. We used to have lunch together when we worked in the same building and, every day, you’d listen to me complain about how that temp job sucked even though I hate when people complain about their jobs.
305. You’re better at cooking eggs.
306. You know that when I complain or tell funny stories about my students, it’s never because I think they’re dumb.
307. You know that if I’m cranky before I have coffee, it has nothing to do with you.
308. You also know I get cranky when I’m hungry.
309. I don’t have to be quiet in the morning because you could sleep through a tornado.
310. You love my hair, no matter what color/length/cut it is/has.
311. You come to church when my parents want us to go.
312. You don’t try to make me get rid of any of my books, even though they’ve taken over the house.
313. You’ll be in the room when I give birth . . .
314. And you know I don’t want any other family members there . . .
315. And we both agree that you don’t have to watch the birth.
316. You know hormonal mood swings are real . . .
317. And not a joke (until they’re over).
318. You’ll always try what I bake, even if it has something in it that you don’t usually like.
319. I never have to wear heels around you (you think this is a detraction but I’m very grateful for it).
320. I always feel safe when you’re home.
321. I still get butterflies when I hear your car, letting me know you’re home.
322. I always thought I’d hate having to take someone else’s life into account when I plan “my” future but you make it feel completely natural and easy.
323. You know I still have a hard time with my last name and you understand.
324. You insist that I look ten years younger than I am.
325. You complain that you never get to open doors for me because I get to them before you.
326. The way you say “eggs” and “legs” makes me laugh. (ayggs and laygs)
327. I love when you kiss the tip of my nose.
328. You know I don’t care about Valentine’s Day, but still want a card.
329. You hate roller coasters but went on TWO for me . . .
330. And I think you enjoyed it?
331. You reason with me when I’m being judgmental.
332. You’re not fazed by the idea of having to change a diaper.
333. You always place take-out orders because you know I don’t like doing it.
334. Whenever you go out for something, you ask me if I need or want anything.
335. You put gas in my car without me asking you to.
336. You don’t make me do cheesy romantic things like watch sunsets or come home to a rose petal covered bed.
337. I love how it feels like we just fit together, like two halves of a puzzle.
338. I love that jealousy has no place in our marriage.
339. There’s no tension over where we spend the holidays.
340. You don’t complain when we’re out and I say, “Oh, can we just go in that store for a minute?” and that minute ends up being forty-five.
341. You were totally calm when we almost set my apartment on fire . . . twice.
342. You think I look better without a tan.
343. You don’t bother me when you know I need to sleep, even though I tell you that you can.
344. I love how strong your arms are.
345. We make the best Trivial Pursuit team.
346. You’re obsessed with the grind of our salt and will tweak the salt grinder until it’s just right.
347. You pat my butt when I walk past you.
348. You notice when I wear something new.
349. You’re obsessed with Eddie Van Halen.
350. You love to talk about how you took things apart as a kid.
351. We picked out the same bed without even talking about it.
352. You fixed the vacuum (as best it can be fixed).
353. You follow me on Twitter.
354. You wear Dr. Pepper pajama pants.
355. You always try to make me happy.
356. You’ll never give up on me.
357. I still can’t get over how cute you are.
358. I can’t imagine my life without you.
359. I love that the best is still to come.
360. I love that I never have to worry about finding “the right one” again.
361. I love that you love me unconditionally.
362. I love that I smile when I think of you . . .
363. Except for the times I think of you and cry because I just love you that much.
364. I love being your wife.
365. I love that you wanted to marry me.
366. I love that we want to, and get to, spend the rest of our lives together.