To My Wife, On Her Birthday

Today is Maria’s birthday. It also marks 171 days since our wedding, 584 days since Maria said yes, and 1060 days since we went on our first date. That time has seemed to flow by so ridiculously fast that it shocks me to look at those numbers. It almost feels like we just met for that first date yesterday.

Seeing how we just celebrated Thanksgiving, I thought I would share with you all some of things about my wonderful wife for which I am so very thankful.

For Loving Me

We’ve had several people ask us over our time together how we knew we were right for each other. Maria and I have the same answer: there wasn’t any one “aha!” moment; it was a slow realization. Which makes sense to me because I think loving someone for the rest of your life is a choice, a deliberate choice.

I knew after over a year with Maria that I wanted to choose her. And I am so very thankful that she chose to love me.

For Sharing this Wonderful Blog with Me

Maria was a great blogger already when I started dating her. Kinder Craze was doing quite well on its own. I would occasionally help Maria with something easy, like cutting out some paper or minor technical issues. But most of our weekends involved Maria working on something blog related while I did one of my two favorite things: read a book or played video games.

By proposing that we start a blog together, Maria has given us a project that allows us to work as collaborators together on something that we both love very dearly. I am very thankful that she has given us this wonderful gift that brought us even closer together.

For Guiding Me Financially

I wasn’t exactly broke when I met Maria, but I wasn’t exactly financially secure either. By introducing me to Dave Ramsey and Financial Peace University, Maria has given me a twofold gift. First, she has shown me a path to making sure that I am secure financially for the rest of my life. Second, she saved us a ton of friction during our marriage by getting us on the same page when it comes to budgeting, spending and saving.

I am thankful that Maria has taken the time to guide me financially, both for me and for us.

For Understanding and Accepting My Nerdiness

You may not know it (unless you’ve seen my personal blog), but I am a pretty nerdy guy. I’ve learned over the years how to move among society in acceptable ways, but it still comes out pretty regularly. For example, in the past few days, I have binged on five episodes of Daredevil, watched one episode of Doctor Who, stayed up until 2:00 am playing video games and bought Star Wars tickets with my friends to see The Force Awakens opening weekend.

Maria has very little interest in any of my nerdy pastimes, but I am thankful that she accepts that those are things I want to do and gives me space to do them.

For Being so Easy To Talk To

One of the reasons that I love my wife so much is how comfortable I feel telling her everything in my life. I know that should seem obvious in a good relationship, but it’s very hard to find in my experience. I tell Maria everything that’s going on and she listens to every word and offers good comfort, suggestions and advice when I need it. I am so thankful to have someone with whom I am comfortable sharing so much without fear of judgment or anger.

For these reasons, and so many more, I am incredibly thankful that God has blessed me with such a wonderful woman to be my wife. Join me in wishing Maria the happiest of birthdays! I love you, wife.