With my wedding anniversary coming up this Friday, there really was only one logical choice for this week’s Thursday Thirteen, The lovely and incredibly talented Mrs. seat of her Pants, a person whom I could not be more proud of or in love with.

Truthfully, thirteen things does not begin to cover everything I could say about my wife, there’s a lot more to her than that.  She is exceptional at being so many different things; a wife, a mother, my best friend, an instructor and mentor for Department of Defense students, an author and editor, and more. She gives 120% of herself to each and every one of these things, sometimes to more than one of them at the same time.  Unfortunately, the nature of the Thursday Thirteen is that I only have room for thirteen things.

And for those of you who aren’t fans of washed out Nagel-esque photos, here’s another shot of the reason I wake up every morning wishing I could just lie there all day.

Please note that these are not in any order whatsoever:

Thirteen Things about Mrs. Seat of her Pants.
Otherwise known as my lovely wife J.

1. She loves my cooking: For this alone I would love her, but she never fails to tell me that I cook well, or make appreciative faces and noises when her meals are brought out.  I would think that after three years some of the novelty would have worn off, but apparently I’m doing something right.
2. She is supportive: When I’m down, she lifts me.  When I’m happy she laughs with me.  When there is a problem she stands beside me. not because she has to, but because she wants to.  I just hope that I do the same for her.
3. She forgives me: I can be an insensitive lout. In fact, I’m probably that way more often than I think I am. I blame some of it on my ADHD, but the rest of it is all me.  I’m jaded and cynical at times (and at times I’m darned proud of it!).  My wife can somehow see past all of this, and at the same time manages not to hold it against me.  That in itself is proof that miracles do happen.
4. She understands me: My wife and I speak a lot of the time in half sentences. All it takes is a “Honey, I need a…” and whichever one of us will finish the sentence, or simply go get whatever was needed.  This kind of shorthand usually takes a very long time to establish.
5. She’s an excellent mother: As a matter of fact, she’s far better at being a parent than I am.  That’s a hard admission for a man with six kids, but it’s true. She’s a natural.  I had to learn how to be “Dad”, she’s just Mommy.  It’s a gift.
6. She’s encouraging: When I made the decision to make blogging and writing my life’s work, my wife stood behind me.  When it felt like I’d made the wrong decision, she pushed me to go after it for a while longer.  When things finally started to look like it would all actually work out, she just smiled and told me she was proud of me.  In actuality, it was all her.  I would have quit before it ever got started.
7. She is far more intelligent than I am: And yes, I’m talking book smarts.  We’ll get to real world horse sense in a moment.  My wife is a full blown genius. In fact, the only subject she has ever struggled with is chemistry.  Now I’m not saying that I’m unintelligent.  Actually, I’m a borderline genius.  The nice part is that our talents offset each other’s brainy tendencies, so we both learn from each other.  But I’ve never once had to “dumb down” a conversation with her.
8. She’s flat out gorgeous: No arguments people… (And that includes you, Mrs. Seat of her Pants!) I think my wife is the most beautiful person in the world.  And hey, she thinks I’m attractive as well…  (She even got glasses and still thinks so, crooked nose and all…)
9. She makes me laugh: It’s something you usually hear of a friend, but my wife can be hilarious at times. She has an impish sense of humor that can alternately disarm even the most aggravated person, and at others make the sailor in me blush.  Needless to say she’s a riot at a party. (For some reason I think my wife and my sister were made of the same stock.)
10. She is my rock: I have issues with the world of common sense.  I’m horrible with money and worse with planning.  My wife not only makes up for these imperfections, but has helped me to do better with both. (now if I could just keep doctors appointments!) In all aspects, she is far more grounded than I am, even though she is ten years my junior.
11. She is my partner in all things: I have the great joy and luxury of having a spouse who not only involves me in all aspects of her life, but whom I am more than happy to share any part of my life with.  We have no secrets and we have no boundaries when it comes to our own lives. Believe me, after having been in relationships where secrecy was a necessity, my wife is not only a breath of fresh air, she is my angel!
12. She is my best friend: It may sound cliché, but I’ve never had anyone in my life I just enjoy talking to more than Mrs. Seat of her Pants. We’ve driven from California to Texas and back three times and have never run out of things to talk about, nor have either one of us ever become bored with the other.
13. She’s a part of my family: This may sound like a cop out for the final entry in the thirteen reasons that I love my wife, but hear me out. In no time in my life have I ever been with someone who so quickly and easily became a part of my entire family.  There was always someone somewhere who disapproved, was not happy or genuinely disliked the person I was with at the time. Miss J. is the very first person out of a 40 year life that simply “fits”.  My kids love her, my family loves her and my friends all think she’s just about perfect.  It would have no bearing on my feelings for her in the slightest, but it’s one (Pardon my language) helluva plus!

All-in-all, there are simply not enough words for me to describe my feelings, admiration or love for my wife. Thirteen things does not even begin to cover it all.  This thirteen is simply my way of stating to the world what I would scream from mountaintops if I had the option to do so. (Sorry, no mountains worth yelling from in this part of TX.)

In conclusion, I just want to say this:

Happy Anniversary Honey.  I’m sure this is a bit embarrassing, but it was finally time to shout from some kind of mountain.  Even if it is only a virtual one.

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