Friday, February 13, 2009

My Love


It's the Eve of Valentine's Day and it just seems appropriate to say a few words about the person who has been my companion and partner for more than 30 years. I first met Jeff in Grade 11 when he was a new kid at school. He sat in front of me in Physics class. He was very cute with his beautiful long curls and dimples. One day he noticed quiet little me and the rest is history. I remember being very excited that someone as cool as him seemed interested in me. We survived Grade 12 even though his family moved 2 hours away. April 14th, 1979 we tied the knot. Yes, we were both officially still 19 years old but Jeff turned the big 20 while we were on our honeymoon. Reasons why I love this guy are:

1. The sweet things he does. For example, one time he brought a blizzard home for Hayley from town. It's a 15 minute drive but he drove with the air conditioning on full even though it wasn't summer.

2. He's supportive. No matter what. I have a friend whose husband will only buy her gifts from Canadian tire. Even when she wants items from other stores...he considers those other stores "girly stores" and he would be embarassed if someone saw him in them. My husband has no problem going to yarn stores, craft and gift stores with me. When Hayley's high school boyfriend's punk rock band was playing in the basement of the local gay bar, he attended. Yes, he did request that she walk him out after the band played. He would let Hayley play with his hair (often it has been longer than my own) and he'd realize later when he was out that he still had a barrette in the back. There was the time that she put nail polish on his fingers. It was a heat sensitive kind that looked clear when warm but went black in the cold. He forgot about it until he was pumping gas in the cold and noticed his black fingernails. We laughed later when he told me how he went into pay and noticed that the young fellow taking the money had black nail polish too.
3. He's got a strong work ethic. Not only at work but at home. In fact I've seen him work on fixing things late into the night to get them done.
4. He's kind.
5. He's intelligent. Something I recognized early on and I know it's something I'm attracted to.

I could probably go on forever but you get the idea. I can't imagine my life without him in it. Please excuse the quality of the old pictures. It just seems like yesterday!

8 comments:

Tamsie said...

Awww - what a cutie! And, what a nice tribute. Other than the curls and the meeting-while-young, he sounds a bit like my husband! Hope you have a romantic Valentines Day *wink wink*

Brenda said...

That is so sweet. Your post reminded me of all the good qualities of my own DH, which I frequently take for granted.

So I think I will write a post like yours too.

Take care,
B

NJ said...

Brenda, I think you should...mine was very touched by the post which I left up for him to read.

Hilary said...

Aww so nice to hear of a young love that made it. It shines through your words. Lovely photos too. :)

NJ said...

Thanks for the kind words Hilary. Although the photos definitely express our youth and happiness I do also think they show the change from what we used to think of as a good quality photo to what we now have.

carmilevy said...

What a beautiful tribute to an amazing husband and an amazing marriage. You have both obviously found the secret. What a blessing - both for you to experience and for us to witness.

I've always laughed at so called men's men who bristle at doing supposedly "girly" things. There's nothing cooler than a husband who does anything for his wife - including picking up things at non-testosterone-drenched retail establishments - or a dad who'll play dolls with his daughter and leave the house with evidence of same still on him.

A couple of years back, our daughter was home with a nasty cold. To cheer her up, my wife suggested they do their nails. Not wanting to be left out, I asked if they could paint my pinkie toe nail as well. It made my little girl happy...nothing else mattered. She smiles about it every time we talk about it, and I'd do stuff like that for both of them in a heartbeat.

Anyone who hides behind false machismo is a big doof.

NJ said...

Carmi, what a fantastic comment. You are an awesome man!!!! To me nothing is more macho than not caring if people perceive you as macho.

knitjo said...

He sounds like a great guy, I guess that is the reason you have been together so long...congrats...