1. The dimples.
2. He was undeterred in his quest to have the Star Wars theme song played at our wedding. The organist played it during communion. (Thank God I’d made it clear that lightsabers had to be checked at the cathedral doors.)
3. The first time he made me dinner, he made Molten lava chocolate cake for dessert. I rest my case.
4. He made me ricotta cheese pancakes and mimosas on valentine’s day morning last year after I’d arrived home from a 24 hour shift. I NOW rest my case. (No I don’t.)
5. He’s generous.
6. He’s on the board of a nonprofit that strives to achieve worldwide literacy which, and I still stand by this, makes him like Mother Teresa, only with a penis. (And a lot sexier.)
7. The British accent. (He says the word “garage” like “carriage” with a “g” instead of the “c” and it’s still cute.)
8. He’s entirely too reasonable. Which can be annoying. But it’s probably the main reason we argue very infrequently. (We only argue about his reasonableness.)
9. He likes to snuggle.
10. Lazy is not in his lexicon.
11. He has a strong work ethic. (See #10.)
12. He’s honest. (And thus he oftentimes honestly sticks his foot in his mouth.) (Which can be entertaining.)
13. He doesn’t believe in compromise. He believes in collaboration. (He has a graph for that, ask him to draw it for you.)
14. Sometimes, when I’m on call at the hospital, he comes to have dinner with me.
15. He takes amazing pictures.
16. He loves throwing parties.
17. He loves to travel and keeps a list in his passport book of all the countries he’s been to (40 countries, all 7 continents).
18. When he travels, he tries the deep-fried battered beer larvae & the grilled sparrow on a stick from the street vendors.
19. He NEVER gets sick and swears that it’s because he eats shit stuff off the floor. (Or from street vendors in foreign countries. Same difference.)
20. When he doesn’t know the lyrics to songs, he makes them up. Case in point: Elvis Costello’s Everyday I write the book becomes “Everyday I ride the bus.”
21. He’s a thoughtful gift-giver and loves orchestrating grand surprises. (Exhibit A: His Crazy Marriage Proposal.)
22. He loves my job and is genuinely interested in hearing about my work day.
23. He’s never upset when I’m late for something. (Mostly because he’s always late. But also because, as he says, he always has a million things to do while he waits for me. See #10 again.)
24. He knows all the vendors in our little neighborhood on a first name basis.
25. He learned how to dance salsa when we started dating and then showed his moves in front of all our friends and family and a live Cuban salsa band at our wedding reception.
26. He can strike up a conversation with anyone, anywhere, anytime about anything. (Silence is not in his lexicon either.)
27. He loves a good quote and you can bet that for every major occasion he’s got a quote ready to recite.
28. He has a good relationship with his mum.
29. He has a good relationship with my Mamacusa.
30. He admits his mistakes and apologizes.
31. That being said, he’s an unapologetic flatulator.
32. He’s a happy person, and his happiness is contagious.
Happy birthday, Dear Brit. If and when we have kids, I’d be perfectly happy and proud if they’re all just like you. Love you.
