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Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day... a Guest Post

So, I'm not exactly what you would call a talker. In fact, in most situations I tend towards anti-social. I was the kid in school that always secretly hoped that the teacher wouldn't make us choose our own groups because the anxiety of actually talking to other people and asking them to accept me into their group was nearly overwhelming (Yes, I realize this is something for which I should seek professional help, but this is not a post about my psychoses).  So the idea of writing a blog entry is absolutely foreign to me.

In case you hadn't figured it out yet, this is Angie's husband. She asked me to guest post for her tonight, and it's Valentine's Day, and I didn't really feel like I could say no even though it was the first word that popped into my head when she asked. You see, I don't really understand the whole idea of sharing the intimate details of my personal life with friends and family, much less strangers all over the country. But my wife does. She feels like these posts connect her in a very real and intimate way to the people in our lives that she cares about, people she doesn't get to see as often as she would like, and even some people that she has never actually met face to face. And this is one of the things that I love about her. That she believes in this connection, however tentative, that exists and can be sustained through 500 some-odd words every day or so.

Warning: For all of you out there who hate Valentine's Day and can't stand sentimentality, I'm going to go ahead and apologize. This is a Valentine's day post and I do intend to extol my wife's virtues and list the things that I love about her. So if you need to jump ship, I completely understand. I would do the same thing in your place, and I won't hold it against you. Why don't you try this article instead about the most cynical explitations of romantic love in history.

Just the saps left? Right, on we go.

So, in addition to my wife' ability to truly and completely believe in the connecting power of this blog, I also love, in a much more practical way, that she is always kind to me here. That she always blogs about me in way that probably makes people think that I am a much better husband than I really am. That she focuses on the things that I contrubute to our family when she could easily use this as a forum to air all of her grievances and conplain about my many faults.

I love that my wife believes in herself. That when she decides she is going to do something she goes after it wholly and completely. She is the type of person that doesn't buy a gym membership for just one month to see how things go; she signs up for a year because she can picture herself in her head being successful. A little over a year ago, she started her etsy shop in full force and she has always believed in her ability to be successful at it. I admire the courage that it takes to wholly commit to something.

I love my wife's small talk... not being on the receiving end of it, but the fact that she make herself at home in almost any company, that she has no problem joining a conversation of strangers or leading a conversation when the rest of us fall silent.

I love that my wife doesn't dwell. She let's things go, moves on, gets over it. I love that she can be so angry that she wants to throw things at me, but then can tell me she loves me an hour later. I love that she knows this about herself and had even told me "I just need to mope for a little bit and then I'll be better."

 I love that my wife stays up all night with me when we drive to Chicago. She could easily close her eyes, sleep through most of the drive, and wake up when we're there, but she stays up and keeps me company. I know this is mostly because she doesn;t trust me to stay awake, but I love it about her anyway.

I love that my wife is hot. I know this is superficial and whatever else you want to call it, and I won't go into any more detail because our families read this, but it had to be said.

I love that my wife is always trying to make us a stronger couple. That she asks me if I'm happy, and that she listens to my answer. I love that I can tell her when I'm angry or annoyed or underappreciated and she is never defensive, and that I can leave my clothes on the floor even sfter she's told me to put them in the hamper and she still washes them.

I could go on about the things that I love about my wife, but I think I've put in enough time, and I've officially done my Valentine's Day job.

Chris

7 comments:

Crystal Farish said...

Love that you posted Chris!!!!

Abigail said...

What a sweet post! It is so nice to see love in action - and it is apparent that both of you cherish each other and your marriage. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

You have done such a great job Chris that you just might have to be Angie's sub on those days she just can't make it. You are very sweet to do as she would love, even if you don't love it!

molly said...

Awwhh, so sweet. That was really lovely Chris.

Ang, you should really let Chris write guest posts all the time as he says some amazingly wonderful things to say.

In The Pursuit of Education said...

Awesome Chris!! You all are so lucky to have each other. :)

Anonymous said...

Oh. So there IS hope. ;)

Nice job, Chris. You do your gender proud.

Unknown said...

One of the best posts ever.