The other night my fiance, Isaac, was tucking me in (yes, he does that every night). As he was rubbing my back I half jokingly/half asleep demanded, “name 17 things you love about me.” Without missing a beat he started listing things he loves about me, occasionally stopping to ask what number he was on. My head was face down on the pillow but my smile was stretched wide. I thought I can’t believe I found a man who will play my reindeer games, and make me feel like everyday is my freakin birthday!

Ever since then I have been thinking about the things I appreciate and love about him. There are so many more than 17, but why not go with that same number. For any men reading this, I hope Isaac’s man card doesn’t lose any points. For the ladies reading, sorry I already snagged such an amazing man! Also, the sappiness of this post may be a bit overwhelming. Just a warning.

1. As mentioned above, Isaac tucks me in every single night. He turns out my lights, makes sure I have water, and am comfortable. It may sound ridiculous, childish, but it is an important nightly ritual for me!
2. Before leaving for work in the mornings, I always have to wake him up to say goodbye. The one time I didn’t because I knew how tired he was, he texted after waking up to tell me that it doesn’t matter how tired he is, I need to say goodbye.
3. Whenever he gets home from work, he makes a beeline for me and gives me a huge bear hug. I do the same when I get home after he does. There is nothing better than walking in the door to each other at the end of a long day.
4. He is a musician. He writes music and plays the drums, guitar, keyboard, and synthesizer. His music is actually really good, not 7th grade garage band junk. I listen to it on the way to work and forget that it’s not the radio I’m listening to as I hum along.
5. He will and does cry in front of me (sorry man card).
6. When I come to him sobbing because of a sappy video I saw on wimp.com, he never laughs. He rubs my back while we talk about it.
7. A perfect Saturday morning to him is sleeping in, eating Biscuitville, hitting up TJ Max, and going for a drive with the windows down. He is spiritual, and loves nature.
8. When I am curious about something I can ask him about it and there is a 95% chance he will have some knowledge about  the topic. It doesn’t matter whether I’m curious about Native Americans, Pilot Whales, irrigation systems, or types of cheese, for some reason he has a spot in his brain with thousands of random facts.
9. He puts up with my sleepwalking. Just last night I was having a night terror about a spider and started screaming bloody murder. He came into my room to find me crouched on top of my bed pointing at the wall. He spent some time calming me down and convincing me that a 3 foot spider was not trying to devour me.
10. He has taught me how to work through conflict and discuss problems as opposed to my old method which was saying the most cruel and hurtful things I could think of in order to inflict pain.
11. His family. I am so excited that they will soon be my family too.
12. The fact that he is a guys guy. He plays poker, drinks beer, and can get along with almost any man he meets.
13. His ambition. He refuses to just be complacent and always wants to improve as a human being. He asks for my advice a lot, even if it is with issues concerning his business school or job at the lab. Obviously I have no experience in either but he makes it known that he values my opinions and judgment on situations.
14. His love of cheap Mexican food and the “big beers” they have there.
15. Since living together, I have never taken out the garbage or recycling. He does it without asking for praise or recognition. He also puts up with my sloppiness and cleans constantly! Yikes, I think he got the short end of the stick on this whole relationship thing.
16. He feeds my pet rabbit because he semi-secretly loves him too. And he knows I love him.
17. He makes me laugh. A lot. On the worst day of my life, he could make me smile and see the silver lining.