My Valentine

I am not a mushy person. At all. When I see people gettin’ all lovey-dovey in public, I puke in my mouth. I can still remember “the single days”, when being in the presence of PDA-lovin’ couples made me want to scream and cry, all in one breath.

But, man. Sometimes you just gotta mush on the dude of your life, eh?

I have married THE.BEST.GUY.EVER. And, today, in celebration of Valentine’s Day, I’ll do some cyber lovin’ of Richie-Rich. Because he is THAT worthy.

I think what I love most about Richard is that he just lets me be me. He lets me figure things out at my own pace. He lets me make my stupid mistakes. He lets me dream. He lets me change my (our) plans. He just smiles and nods. And pays my tuition. It’s gotta frustrate him, being the “I’ve known what I’ve wanted to do with my life since I was 18” and “I’ve happily worked at the same company for the past 10 years, and can’t imagine ever switching careers” guy. But, though the eyes of his heart may be rolling, Richard never shows it outwardly. He just lets me do my thing and supports me through every decision.

I also love that we are in this marriage as equal partners. We’ve always been on the same page regarding this and Richard’s ALWAYS treated me as such. (Well, except when it comes to electronics. He doesn’t treat me as his equal then.) We talk things out. We decide things together. I can’t imagine it working any other way.

And, he shovels the driveway. In -40.

He is unparalleled as a dad. Wow. You would be awed. It’s almost too bad that we “only” have one kid, because Richard’s dad skills are so stellar. He is patient. He is gentle. He is fun. He is caring. He is stable. He’s Ellie’s rock. He is PRESENT. Richard is not a dad that’s only involved on Saturday afternoon. He is part of every aspect of Ellie’s life; just as much as I am. (Well, except for clothes-buying. I trump him on that one.) And, you know the aforementioned quality of loving-me-where-I-am? Well, that’s how Richard loves Ellie too. He just loves her because she’s Ellie. He doesn’t worry about the future or the things she can or can’t do. He just loves.

He does really nice stuff for me. Yesterday, when I got into the car after my work-day, there was a rose on my seat. When I started the car, I immediately realized that Richard had downloaded a MP3 of “Chrystie’s favorite tunes” and it was programmed to start with #3: “our song” from when we were dating. I came home to a home-made heart-shaped pizza. Those are nice things. Thoughtful things. Mushy things.

I’m in love. And I don’t care if the cyber world knows it!