Today is the 46th birthday of the most important man in my life. You know him as Husband, Styro, or both. Some of you know him as Captain DH, Hacker, or just plain Jim. I know him as Buddy.
As a high-schooler, I was not a girly-girl. All my best friends were guys, and my favorite pair of shoes were lemon yellow Nikes with a sky-blue swoosh stripe. One of the six guys I hung out with was Jim, Maureen's boyfriend. Ever the Huntress, I once wrote in his play program, "If there was not a Jim and Mo, there would definitely be a Jim and Mary." Alcohol may have played a part in this very forward behavior.
Within a year, he and Maureen broke up (much to my future mother-in-law's chagrin at the time), and we started dating. Our first date was January 31st, 1981. Jeezus Crispies, that was a long time ago.
I don't know when I first started calling him Buddy, or Bud. I am big on nicknames (intimacy problems, much?). Maybe that's one of the reasons I love blogging. Anyway, it didn't feel awkward to say "I take you, James Stewart,..." so it was probably after we were married. What it signifies to me is that I married my best friend nearly twenty-four years ago.
For his birthday, I thought I'd share some things about him...
- He is among the most intelligent people I've ever met.
- Although electronic equipment will never defeat him, the Handyman's toolbox has never been his best
friend.
- He has a wonderful singing voice and actively works to maintain his range from mid-tenor to bass.
- He is deeply committed to his religion, and is an example of the Christian who leads by living a good life.
- He's the kind of person you want as an employee. Hard-working, committed, and competent.
- He is probably embarrassed by now reading this list, because he's pretty modest.
- He can make me laugh at the most awful things. I can forgive anything as long as it's funny and he
knows it.
- He watches more movies in a year than many people watch in a lifetime.
I love you, Buddy. Happy Birthday!
* 46 X 365 = 16,790. See, I'm playing off the 365 Things post I wrote last....never mind.
