A Sappy, Lovey-Dovey Top Ten List - Valentine's Day Style

One of my most favorite people in the world challenged me (well, not *just* me, but that's not super relevant) to create a Top 10 Reasons You Love your Mate list, claiming it is harder to be concise than it is to be verbose.  She is completely right.  I believe I could sooner type up a 101 list (which seems to be my number of choice) than a Top 10. 

In response to the challenge (because I love a good challenge!), here is my exceedingly long Top 10 List.

The Top Ten Reasons I Love Sam

1.  He is everything I'm not; patient, easy-going, rational, optimistic, exacting, persevering, and nerdy (okay, so we're both that one).  I get to say that we complete each other and truly mean it.  I'm the lucky one in that equation though...in me being everything he's not, he gets an other half who is impatient, high-strung, irrational, pessimistic, who "makes it work" & gives up easily.  Yikes.  (It's not too late to get rid of me, Sam!  No.  Wait.  It is.  Sorry.)

2.  He handles the finances with grace and ease.  I am the family tightwad.  I envision myself sitting down to pay bills and thinking, "Hmm...that electric bill seems pretty high this month.  I can't bring myself to pay all of that."  And proceeding to write a check for the amount that I think it *should* be.  You can see why that would be troublesome. 

3.  He is the Couponator.  Read that like "terminator."  And it's true.  He can find a coupon for ANYTHING.  And if he can't, he'll haggle it.  The motto is "NEVER pay full price."  And he doesn't.  And I truly love him for it.  (See #2 - the family tightwad loves his ability to do this.)

4.  He has the amazing ability to defuse any situation.  Much to Sam's chagrin (I'm sure), he is now the lone rational member of a 5 person family.  The rest of us seem to be much more emotionally unstable than him.  When one of us flies off the handle for any reason, big or small, it sets off a chain reaction.  And it's not a pretty one!  Along comes Sam and within minutes, there are no more tears, no more raised voices, and there may be some type of sweet treat involved to distract us from the issue.  Yeah, that works on me too.  (Sam, I know it's exhausting to be "The Defuser" all of the time.  I'm giving you credit where credit is due, and want you to know how much I appreciate you!  AND I'm a poet and didn't know it.)

5.  Back in the day, when you used to join groups instead of becoming fans of things on Facebook, I joined a group called, "Just Because I'm an Engineer Doesn't Mean I Can Fix Your Refrigerator."  Ironically enough, literally one week later, our refrigerator broke.  Even more ironically, Sam the engineer, fixed it.  (He replaced the motherboard.  Seriously.  Who knows how to do that?)  So, reason #5, he can fix anything.  And if he can't, he figures out how to (see #1, persevering).

6.  Sometimes as a holiday gift, but usually "just because", he recharges my Dunkin' Donuts gift card so I can enjoy a hot coffee without the guilt of spending money on frivolity.  (Again, I reference #2, the family tightwad.)

7.  He cooks.  They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.  Well I must be a man. 

8.  There is no number he can't remember.  Checking account numbers, credit card numbers, electric company account number (I mean who knows THAT?), SkyMiles numbers, phone numbers, house numbers, middle school locker combination numbers.  He's got them all stored in that brain of his.  And it comes in handy more often than you even know!

9.  He implores me to relax and actually succeeds in convincing me to do so from time to time.  As a Type-A, this is not easy for me.  I am (very) slowly letting things go, and I think it is helping our marriage.  (But some things will never change, and I confess to loading and starting the dishwasher at 2am last night after accidentally falling asleep before I could get it done.)

10.  He gives me the courage to do things I wouldn't otherwise do without, well, encouragement...be it going to a new shopping venue, introducing myself to someone new, or just passing someone on a two-lane road. 

So there you have it.  A completely non-exhaustive Top 10 List about the love of my life. 

I wish you all a fantabulous, splendiferous, and overall sappy, lovey-dovey Valentine's Day!