My husband turned the big three-oh this past weekend, and that means I get to publicly brag about him for a few minutes. We often jokingly ask each other, “What are your top three favorite things about me?” (Or whatever number of compliments we so desire in that moment.) While our answers many times are fun and playful, I like to keep him on his toes and give him a serious answer every now and then.
The birthday boy pre-beard (photo by the one and only Kyle Carpenter)
One of my favorite things about David is his sense of loyalty. David has a group of guys that have all been friends since high school that all still talk and hang out regularly. They have a group chat that keeps his phone buzzing constantly, and there has always been a part of me that is jealous of that collective, consistent friendship. These boys have a bond that is not linear, but rather multi-dimensional due to the size of the group. And these bonds are strong. Strong enough for the group to travel together each summer to do some off-grid, backpacking in national parks across the country, which is where he is right now — celebrating another year of his life with friends who have been important figures in his life for years.
The boys in Colobrahdo 2020
Something else I love is his sense of adventure. From backcountry camping with the boys to exploring new cities with me to living in a foreign country just after high school, David has always been adventurous — sometimes in a way that frightens me. Anyone could hand him a ticket to anywhere in the world and he would have no issues selling everything and going. As someone who would classify herself as a homebody, our lives have seemed to have melted together over the year into a blend that allows room for both stability and adventure. We balance each other out, him broadening my horizons and me teaching him to enjoy the little things in the present. Another game we like to play is, “If you could buy a ticket for anywhere in the world, where would you go?” And when the world is back to normal, we plan to make some of those answers a reality. (No one way tickets though. Don’t worry, Mom. Sorry, David.)
And my third favorite thing about David is his intellectual curiosity. While he will probably admit that he didn’t love school, he loves to learn. He is constantly watching Youtube videos to learn something new, and I have especially benefitted from all the cooking skills he has learned. He and his group of guys also have a weekly book club that I have unfortunately not been invited to join. I can pretty much guarantee that these boys could have never guessed back in high school that they would still be reading books together 10+ years later. It gives me hope as an English teacher that some of my students will one day be doing the same thing down the road. Below are the books they read this summer (all of which I highly recommend).
David, if you’re reading this, I know you probably don’t love the public display of words of affirmation (my love language, not his), but I hope you know that I love you and I’m excited to keep celebrating more birthdays with you, even if that means getting left out of the boys’ book club for the next 30 years.
Happy Birthday, mister :)