Tags

  1. Love is “You don’t look like you feel like cooking tonight. Let me take you out for sushi.”
  2. Love is giving him the first omelet, because no matter what I do the second one always burns.
  3. Love is doing the dishes together.
  4. Love is leaving for church an hour early with me every week because I volunteered for extra duties.
  5. Love is being his personal chauffeur for six months after a seizure.
  6. Love is allowing that seizure to change him for the better.
  7. Love is “You mow.  I’ll weed-eat.”
  8. Love is bringing me coffee in the mornings.
  9. Love is “Do you need the hairdryer before I put it up?”
  10. Love is leaving a note on my steering wheel that says he loves being my husband.
  11. Love is deciding together when it was time to let Mason go.
  12. Love is allowing him to bury our sweet dog in solitude.
  13. Love is grocery shopping with me at four different stores twice each month because I’m a product and ingredient freak.
  14. Love is cooking together.
  15. Love is curling into his side and relaxing in his arms.
  16. Love is putting my wayward shoes in my closet for me, or hanging up my purse.
  17. Love is hauling firewood to the back door for him before he gets home from work.
  18. Love is a crackling fire and a glass of wine waiting for me when I get home.
  19. Love is neatly laying out all the freshly-laundered clothes so they’re easier for me to fold.
  20. Love is holding my hand on a long drive.
  21. Love is quoting our favorite movies: “You’re drunk, Lovell,” and “I can’t deal with cleaning up.  Let’s sell the house.”
  22. Love is spending all day watching The Godfather trilogy.
  23. Love is “Lori Darlin'” and cutting the cards.
  24. Love is typing the meeting minutes for committees on which he is recording secretary.
  25. Love is grinning at each other around beams that would become the walls of our home.
  26. Love is “Bless you,” and “Excuse me.”
  27. Love is watching the pressure canner for me while I run an errand.
  28. Love is singing along with the 80’s station at the top of our lungs while the kids groan in the back seat.
  29. Love is wine and cheese for appetizers while the grill fires up.
  30. Love is “Don’t forget the peppers and onions.”
  31. Love is “Crap. I forgot the peppers and onions. Be right back.”
  32. Love is ironing his shirts.
  33. Love is cleaning out my car.
  34. Love is “I’m sorry,” “I was wrong,” and “Please forgive me.”
  35. Love is “I forgave you the minute you said it.”
  36. Love is curling up on the couch together watching It’s a Wonderful Life and agreeing that yes, it really is.

For all the things our love is, and all the things it is yet to be, these 18 years have been the best of my life. I love you forever, Dominic. Happy Anniversary.