the birthday boy

9/25/2014
 

^^ pixelated iphone pictures are my thang.

So today is Dan’s Birthday.

Dan is slightly farther ahead in life than I am. Nine years, to be exact. I know, you’re surprised right? You’d never guess it because the man ages like a fine wine.

I first met Dan 6 years ago. Not long after we met there began a whirlwind romance where I fell fast and hard. It was the typical boy meets girl, girl falls in love, boy likes girl but is scared to death of love and marriage, boy and girl date for a long time, boy finally makes a decision, boy and girl get married. That’s the typical story, right?

Before we had ever gone out on an official date, when I had just begun my not-so-little crush on this guy who had swept me off my feet with his quick witted humor, there was this specific evening that I’ll never forget. I remember everything about this seemingly insignificant night, right down to the plaid collared button up shirt he was wearing. We were sitting at this old wooden table next to my kitchen window, I was eating a hotpocket and we were having a carefree conversation as friends. I can’t remember a thing of what we were talking about, but I do remember watching Dan’s face while he talked. I sort of got lost in his eyes, but not in the cliché romantic way that you’re thinking. It was in a very studious manner that I found myself lost. Specifically, I remember studying the features surrounding his eyes. The curves of his brow lines, the crow's feet softly extending from his outer eyelids. As I studied him I felt an overwhelming sense of de-ja-vu, where some sort of force softly resonated with every part of my being, whispering to me that this man was something very special. In a smell sense I had this sliver of an inkling that this man would change my life forever.

And he did.

Did you ever take that color personality test? Hasn’t everyone taken that test? You know how you read about your “color” and you nod your head and say YES, THIS! to everything you read, because it describes you perfectly? My Dan, he’s a RED to a T. That is, “strong leaders, fast paced thinkers, risk takers, purposeful drivers, strong willed, less patient, competitive, rational”. That’s my babers. My main squeeze. My boo thang. The peanut butter to my jelly. (stop meg, just stop.)

What else can I say about my Dan… Dan is complicated and maybe even slightly rough around the edges, but he’s got this gentle heart of gold that you can’t put a price on. He’s so fun. If I had to choose the very top ingredients in the best recipe to marriage, they would be fun and funny. Life is too tough and marriage is too tough and raising kids is too tough to get through it all without adventures and laughs every day. He has the strength of a friggin lion, in all aspects of life. He works hard and he plays hard and he loves hard. He is courageous in the way that if you had to choose anyone to be with you when there was a catastrophic disaster, you would choose Dan. I always feel safe with him.

I’m oh so glad that this man was born 39 years ago. The past 39 years have shaped him well, and even though I’ve only been with him for six of those years, I truly admire him with all that I am. Ironically, being that it’s his birthday, one of the things I love so much about him is his age. Would it make him sound like an old man already if I said that I loved his age because of his wisdom? I feel like wisdom is a word associated with old. I don’t think Dan is old, not at all. But I do think that he is wise. I love his insight. I love his newly gray hairs, because I think you should never trust a man without a little gray in his hair. I love his sexy scruffy face and his child-like energy. I love his raw talent and his sense of adventure. I look up to him. I respect him. He is my very favorite, very best friend and I have the most fun with him.

Hey, should I have warned you that this would be so mushy? I didn’t really know it myself. I suppose I just got to blabbing and my heart got involved and that’s when this post took a turn for the worst. I just really wanted to come here to say,

Happy happy birthday my love. I hope this is the best one yet.

1 comment:

  1. Aw, I love the moment at the kitchen table. I had a similar experience when Travis and I first started dating, although he wasn't there because we were long distance. I was driving to work, listening to a song that reminded me of him, and I just knew. It's like it hit me all over that this new relationship would go somewhere. I love moments in life like that - whether it be about love or other life-changing things. Sometimes you just know. :)

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