Like most wives, I often complain about my husband’s faults. Stuff like how he leaves his clothes on the bedroom chair (rather than put them away), scream sneezes, and never fixes the couch cushions.
But the truth is, despite some pretty trivial shortcomings, I have one of the good ones. Stan is a catch and I usually don’t give him enough credit publicly.
So now I will.
Sunday was our 24th wedding anniversary. We met in (September) 1994, started dating in (August) ’95, got engaged in (February) ’99, and finally exchanged vows in (June) 2000.
As you can see from our timeline, Stan isn’t one to jump into things without being really, really sure. Clearly.
So I know he loves me — for real.
He isn’t perfect. Far from it. He works too hard and should eat more vegetables, but he’s perfect for me for many reasons.
As I started to make a list of those reasons to share here, I realized I already presented an almost identical list in my Valentine’s Day post from 2017. So then I started to wonder if it was bad that I was repeating myself. Like I couldn’t come up with new reasons …
But here’s the thing: With the exception of putting our kids on the bus (we no longer have school-aged bus riders) and joining the gym with me (we now use our home/basement gym), the list from 2017 is the same as now because Stan is the same. The same reliable, smart, sports fanatic I bragged about seven years ago and the same reliable, smart, sports fanatic I fell in love with almost thirty years ago. (I’d say the only thing that changed is he lost his hair, but he was bald back then, too.)
Like I said in 2017, Stan is my rock. My voice of reason. My North Star. He is also my in-house IT guy, pickleball partner, ass-grabber, and favorite person to do laundry with.
We are opposites in just about every way.
I am a handful. I have multiple food allergies, autoimmune diseases, and mental health issues. I’m emotional, moody, anxious, and easily overwhelmed. I’m also sarcastic AF and can be irrationally snippy and wildly judgemental. Plus, I’m an introvert who prefers to stay home.
Stan is none of those things.
But I think that’s why we work; we balance each other out.
In honor of our anniversary, I want to say thank you, Stan, for making me a better person and for putting up with all my issues … But to be fair, you kinda knew what you were getting into when you married me 🙂
—LJDT
🤩