Happy Valentine's Day

OK - I'm an old sap - I LOVE Valentine's Day. I've never been cynical about it. I wear pink, red, and eat chocolate unapologetically. I think Kate has inherited this gene - she got so jazzed about making cards for her school friends and loved receiving them.

As for Chris, all this week has been a reminder of how much I love him. On Sunday, we went to his friend Reuben's engagement party. It was like 2000 all over again - Reuben and Roy were both there. If it hadn't been for these two guys, I may have never met my husband. I was thinking too of the top reasons I love him so much and here goes:

10)He's genuinely sweet - so many countless occurrences that I can't name them all.
9) He's tall, dark and handsome - yeah, this is such a cliche, but it's true.
8) He takes the "in sickness and in health" thing seriously. I don't think many people would've gone to their wife's radiation treatment with her every day at 7:30am for six weeks.
7)He's not a breast man or has any weird porn fetishes- good thing, with me having 1 1/2 breasts, he would've been sadly disappointed otherwise.
6)He's not now nor has ever been part of a cult. If you had known me from 1998-1999, you'd know what I'm talking about.
5)He listens to my a.m. descriptions of the weird dreams that I have and/or tells me of my sleepwalking escapades.
4) He's constantly singing - and he has a good voice (thankfully).
3) He's smart, without the elitist attitude, and can enjoy movies ranging from the obscure to the ridiculous (read: 40-year Old Virgin, Superbad)
2) He gave me Kate - the best present I've ever received. Totally worth the 18-hour labor.
1) OK, since this is the #1 reason, it has to be good. I have to go back to the Pablo Neruda sonnet read at our wedding to sum up everything:
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Sonnet XVII

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.
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I love you honey - Happy Valentine's Day!