Dear John

I wanted to do something different today in honor of daddy's birthday, so I wrote the following for him:

I like that you type with your fingers on the right keys; that you care whether or not your clothes match and when you do your "fun hair" on the weekends.

I love that you give me a real hug when you get home from work and how you get Ansley in the morning sometimes when I'm too tired to wake up. 

I like that you say you love me 20 times a day, and that every time you mean it. 

I love that you've wanted a family since college, and that it's totally obvious when I see you with Ansley. 

I love how excited you were to finally get a truck so you can do "man things" and get dirty (but that you feel the need to clean it immediately when that dirt shows up). 

I like that even though you detest normal shopping, you have fun buying toys and kid stuff. 

I like that you can cook, and that you don't have to follow the recipe (sometimes ;). 

I love that we somehow always end up matching even though we claim not to try, and that you actually know how to iron a shirt and don't make me do it. 

I like that you always want to ride with the windows down-even if it messes up my hair, and I love that you automatically assume the driving position when we go somewhere together. 

I like that you're just as happy to spend time with the fam as you are to have a guys' night, that you "get sucked in" to my shows, and that you get so much joy from playing with A. 

I love that you still call me beautiful and that you get mad when I dismiss it. 

I like that even when you dream-cheat on me, you feel bad about it (haha sorry about that). 

I like that you go through your mail with an actual letter opener, that you have files for property, and that your favorite games involve money and real estate (dork ;)

I love that you look good in a suit. 

I like how you call margaritas "marg"s, that you get overly-emotional and cry at the movies (Toy Story 3…), and that you have an abnormally strong gag reflex—even though it requires that I handle the particularly saturated diaper-changing occasions.

I like that your dancing repertoire includes the James Brown and random handstands, and that neither of those require much liquid courage before they're unleashed.

I love that you think date nights are just as important as I do.

I love that you are genuinely touched by peoples' kindness and faith, and that you're constantly striving to give more of yourself. 

I like that you are just as awed by your love for Ansley as I am. 

I love that you're my lobster, my penguin, and my other half; and that this list doesn't even cover half of what I love about you.

Happy 33rd!

J.A.M.

-McKenzie