Things have been so busy around here that I didn't get a chance to talk about Kim's xxth birthday. The middle of May is special for a number of reasons--Maisie's birthday, Kim's birthday, and our 7-year anniversary, too. It used to be that (Before Children), Kim and I would go on some cool adventure for her birthday--a trip to Provincetown, kayaking, or something like that.
Now that we have children, the day is less of an adventure, in the conventional sense of hair flying in the wind, eating out at a fancy restaurant, or (having the luxury of) napping during the day. The adventure now is to see if you can make it through an entire day with children without wanting to climb into bed yourself at 7:30 pm (Brian: does this make you want to delay parenting for another five years?).
Nonetheless, I've been wanting to do a little ode to Kim, in honor of her birthday (the exact number of birthdays she has celebrated is not for public consumption).
So, here it goes. Things I love about Kim, and why I'm lucky we're together:
--Her hair is the wildest beehive-nest I've ever seen. The longer it gets, the curlier and larger it gets. Perhaps one of the things I love most about her is that she actually thinks it looks good at the unruly stage.
--Never, not once, has she worn soccer socks that match our red soccer uniforms. The rest of the team wears a conservative white or black. Kim wears purple or green or sky blue. Sometimes she wears one of each color.
--She thinks its pointless to lock the doors to the house when we go on vacation. She figures that if a robber wants to get in badly enough, he/she will get in. So, she'd rather them walk in the front door than have to deal with broken locks/windows (NOTE TO ROBBERS: SHE DOESN'T WIN THIS ARGUMENT....I INSIST ON LOCKING OUR DOORS).
--Without fail, when I'm hot, she is cold. When I am cold, she is very very hot.
--She turned me onto 7-Eleven coffee as a high standard for coffee.
--She was a strict vegetarian for 25 years. Then, one day, without reason, she decided she wanted a steak.
--She has competed in an Ironman Triathalon. When I met her, she was in the best shape of her life. Now, she's sad that she isn't in the shape she used to be. But she is fitter, and has a better body, than almost anybody I know.
--She is wildly competitive, in all things she does. If somebody passes her on a bike when she is on a ride, no matter how fast they are going, she will risk heart failure to re-pass them. Especially if its a man. On an old bike.
--She is a much better mother than I am. She is incredibly patient and much more fun than almost any mother I know.
--She has great home improvement skills. I don't always understand why she does what she does, but it always turns out much better than I thought it would. The tile work she has done in our house is unbelievable. She's also done a ton of little things, like fixing leaks and other stuff. If it were up to me, I'd call somebody, but she manages to figure it all out on her own. Better yet, she knows when she has met her match in some home improvement problem and calls somebody when its a problem she can't solve on her own.
--She loves pie.
--Her toenails grow up, instead of down.
--She still has, and frequently wears, clothes from the 1980s. And, she thinks they're still fashionable. I figure if she wears them long enough, they'll be fashionable again soon.
--She rarely, if ever, shops for herself. Along these lines, she may quite possibly be the most unselfish person I have ever known. I look like, and probably am, a glutton, in comparison to her.
There are a thousand other reasons why I love her, but these are just a few of the most obvious.
