My Favorite Person

10 things I love about Ben (a belated birthday post):

1. If he cannot find something, he will do a 2 second search and then come and ask me where whatever he is looking for might be. Because he knows that I have most likely put it away somewhere totally unrelated to the last place it was.

2. Although I roll my eyes and make jokes about his penchant for “projects”, I am very pleased that I have a husband who is interested in making/doing/growing/learning. I don’t know many men who would build a deck for their wives because they mention how much they like a friend’s deck, who would build a vacuum tube amplifier, speakers and a Theremin from scratch, who would dig up their driveway to have more space for urban gardening, who would have homemade sausages hanging in the basement and kitchen, or who would install a sprinkler system in a rental house because he wanted grass in New Mexico. The man has PLANS people.

3. If I come home in a mood (like wanting to Hulk smash stuff type mood) he will immediately ask me when was the last time I ate and sometimes asks me if I need a chocolate bar. (The answer to that last question is always yes by the way.)

4. He does not like video games, per say, but if it’s Mario Bros anything, he will play until he beats the game.

5. He always washes Carl. Carl is 128 lbs and a Newfie mix with an undercoat that does not quit. Carl also does not like to stand and prefers laying down all the time. Anyone who has met Carl can imagine what a challenge this might be. I don’t think I have ever had to wash that dog.

6. He picks the best presents for me. Shoe stores, women’s clothing stores and jewelry stores do not intimidate him. I have never been disappointed by a present from him and he never ever stoops to getting me a gift certificate. Considering boys outnumbered the girls in his family 6 to 2 I think this is an amazing accomplishment and it has nothing to do with the fact that I like presents at all.

7. He loves to tell me what he just heard on NPR on his drive home. Politically we have almost the exact same views and it is very refreshing to be able to talk to someone who knows stuff. There are a lot of dummies in the world.

8. When I say something that makes him laugh, he pushes me.

9. He usually pinches my butt when I get out of the car. I think it will be awesome if he is doing this when we’re 80.

10. He is a completely self-taught chef. He loves to cook; he makes incredibly delicious food, appetizers, desserts and everything in between. He caters to my selectiveness and has opened up my mind to numerous culinary delights. He is quite literally a genius in the kitchen. I do not even mind that he set our deck on fire with his smoker.