Love

Otherwise known as: Why I love my husband even though he apparently intentionally neglected to bring me home any schwag from the CES conference in Vegas while I laboriously held down the homestead (homestead sounds sorta Laura Ingalls, doesn't it?).

Although I've been married less than a year, every now and again I'm reminded of more reasons why I love the man I married. True enough, some days I want to smack his head, but if I didn't, that would mean I didn't care, right?

If you have an aversion to gushy stuff, read no further.

Five of the reasons I love my husband today:

1) He makes me laugh every day. Sometimes it is with him, sometimes it might be at him, but he makes me laugh. This is important. You should laugh at least once every day. If you can't, you are taking yourself way too seriously. Oh yeah, and his jokes can be as inappropriate as mine. That is a skill.

2) He puts up with my quirks. I know this may come as a shock to some, but I can be imperfect at times. My husband knows this and loves me anyway. Either that or he is very convincingly tolerant.

3) He makes me breakfast. I know this seems minor, but I was never much of a breakfast person because the thought of cooking first thing in the morning was not appealing. However, my husband, almost every single morning, gets up, lets the dogs out, starts the coffee, then comes and wakes me up before he starts making eggs, etc. While I almost always do the cooking for the remaining meals, it is a definite luxury to not have to do anything in the morning until after I've had my coffee.

4) Gadget-o-philia by association. Anyone that knows my husband knows that he is obsessed with gadgets. Any new gadget that involves music, Apple computers, Ipods, etc., he is all over. Why is this a benefit, you ask? Inheritance. You see, I inherit all his hand-me-down gadgets. The secret is to let him feel as if I'm doing him a favor by taking them off his hands so he can buy the newer, bigger, shinier, more memory version. This also should serve to soften the guilt I'm hoping he feels when he spends a few hundred dollars on the newest gadget. I'm figuring his ITouch Ipod should be mine in the next week.

5) He buys me diamonds. Ha ha. Bet ya thought I was going to say that, didn't you? There are many reasons I love my husband, but diamonds are not a reason. Not that there is anything wrong with buying me diamonds, but I love him most for his warmth, his candor, his integrity, his humor, and the list goes on.

Next time you are on the verge of an argument with your spouse or loved one, stop a second and think of all the reasons you love them. If that doesn't work, smack his head. That means you care.