That’s Love

Caveat Emptor

In honor of Valentines Day, I’m going to post some nice things about Jon. I figure he’s got to deal with 363 days of attitude (I’m pretty nice to him on his birthday as well) and he deserves some recognition.

If you can’t deal with the soppy romance stuff, here is a nice video for you to watch while the rest of us have a moment:

If you can’t view the video, please click through to the blog.

He’s Pretty Essential

Jon and I have known each other for 8 years this February. We got married 4 1/2 years ago, and I can remember grinning my face off at the altar, feeling completely delighted that I’d get to hang out with Jon for the rest of my life.

He’s a lot like oxygen – you don’t notice how great it is, until you put a plastic bag over your head to see what life is like without it. If you’re curious, go ahead and try it – I recommend bags from a museum gift shop. They are nice and sturdy, and should get the point across fairly quickly.

Oh, You Clever Fellow, You

Jon’s smart without being arrogant about it. I like that he can teach me things, and that when anything electronic around our house breaks, he can usually fix it. Our cable router routinely tries to take days off, and not only does he know how to test it to find out the problem, he also has wired our house up in a frightening fashion, so I can log into the internet from any room. Even the balcony. Even, for the love of god, the bathroom. I know, because in order to ensure the accuracy of this blog post, I just checked.

We Laugh About Bad Things

The first time Jon and I bonded, it was over an extremely politically incorrect SNL skit based on It’s A Wonderful Life. Pretty much, Old Man Potter gets beat down. Everyone else in the room was dead silent, totally aghast that SNL would go so far as to club a handicapped man repeatedly. I love Jon’s sense of humor, which is quirky and witty and more than a little off-kilter. I say this as a compliment, because humor-wise, most people have no idea where I’m coming from half the time, but Jon always gets it.

What? An Entire Culture Based on Bread and Cheese?

Jon has introduced me to all sorts of great things. Prior to meeting him, I didn’t eat Mexican food, onions or fresh Parmesan cheese. I didn’t play video games and thought cell phones and credit cards were the devil. I ended up learning HTML because of him, and this morning he spent a good hour and a half helping me to debug my perl code. I’ve learned how to communicate better (i.e. hiding in a box is not the best way to express dissatisfaction with the world) and I no longer have to label all my computer plugs with masking tape explaining how to reassemble them.

He’s Got Your Back

Finally (because this post is getting pretty lengthy and I’m going to have to put another exploding bear video in, just for some variety), Jon is discerning when it comes to choosing friends and loved ones, but once he does, he will modify his behavior to make these people happy. He will make decisions based on making things easier for those he cares about, and will do just about anything for them.

If you are seeking to get on this very elite list, I would recommend plying Jon with excellent meals, asking him intelligent computer questions and bonding over independent rock bands. It’s okay to forget about holidays and anniversaries, but the birthday is a must – you are in deep trouble if you forget the birthday.

And Now, It’s Your Turn

So, that’s a wrap – those of you with bags over your head should remove them, and anyone watching a loop of the video above can stop now. And don’t get any ideas. Put the plush toy and the shotgun down. That is not the answer.

For those of you who made it all the way through the post, thanks for reading, and please post a comment about what makes your loved one, man crush, spouse or harem great.