30 Reasons Why

I wanted to give you something for your birthday that would remind you of just how much I love you.

There are so many things I adore about you. Some are big, some are little things you probably don't even realise I notice. But they all make me incredibly grateful that I get to call you my husband.

So here are 30 of the many, many reasons why I love you.

And trust me, stopping at 30 was not easy!

You make me feel so protected and cared for. You give me your hand to hold when going down the stairs, crossing the road, or getting out of the bathtub.

You've made it your business to ensure I am safe wherever I am. Sometimes I genuinely wonder how I managed to survive before you came along!

You go to such lengths to make my life easier, sometimes at your own inconvenience. Like driving me all the way to St Albans, and working at a café while waiting for me to finish at the office, just so I don't have to make the journey alone.

You do things like this so naturally, and I hope you know how much I appreciate them. You spoil me so much, and I'm so grateful!

I love that you genuinely enjoy keeping me company, and how you would accompany me to work events simply because you wanted to be there with me.

Our trip to Norway will forever be one of my favourites.

There's something so beautiful about having a husband who loves being around me as much as I love being around him.

I love that I never have to feel like everything around the house is my responsibility. You'll clean the kitchen, cook for us, tidy up, or tell me to go and rest while you take care of things.

You don't see these things as favours you're doing for me. They're simply part of how we look after our home and each other. And I love that about you.

I love that you enjoy cooking, and I especially love being on the receiving end of it. There's something so sweet about having a husband who takes pleasure in making something delicious for his wife.

And yes, your turkey and banana cakes are the absolute best!

I appreciate how simple and flexible you are.

I know I can be quite particular about certain things, like how things are arranged around the house, the fridge, the bathroom, the bedroom, and so on.

And you never make a fuss about it. You simply go along with my little systems, ask when you're unsure, and do your part to keep things tidy.

You make sharing a home feel so effortless.

One of the things I admire most about you is how gentle you are.

Even when you're upset, you speak to me so calmly and softly. You never yell at me or raise your voice.

I don't think you realise how much that means to me. Your gentleness is such a beautiful part of who you are, and I absolutely adore it.

You can sense it when my mind isn't in the best place, and somehow you usually know just what I need.

You know exactly when to hold me, without questions, when to reassure me that you're there for me, and you never run out of ways to make me feel calm.

You even came up with our own little code word for when I'm in extreme distress, so I wouldn't always have to explain what I'm feeling.

Thank you for being such a safe place for me, my love.

I see the concern on your face whenever you sense that something might be upsetting me.

You want to know what's wrong, how you can help, and what you can do to make things better.

I love that my happiness means so much to you. And I hope you know that yours means just as much to me.

Seeing you happy makes me incredibly happy too.

I love that you're quick to apologise when I'm hurt, and I appreciate how you listen and make genuine efforts to improve things we've talked about.

So much has changed in our marriage, and you've continued to follow through on promises you made to me concerning things we used to struggle with.

It means so much to know that what matters to me matters enough for you to work on it.

This is one of my favourite things about being loved by you.

You see so much beauty in me, sometimes in places I would never have thought to look. The way you admire my body, my mind, my character, and even the smallest things about me makes me feel like the most precious woman in the world.

You make me see myself through your eyes, and I love the woman I see.

You tell me you love me every single day. Sometimes so many times that I've lost count, and somehow I never get tired of hearing it.

I love how freely and openly you express your love for me. You never leave me wondering how you feel.

And I hope you never stop telling me!

I don't even know how to explain how good it feels to be wrapped in your arms. It's like being surrounded by warmth, love, happiness and peace all at once.

I could stay there forever.

And one of my favourite things in the world is knowing that whenever I need a cuddle, I've got you.

You are SO funny! Oh my God!

So many people have no idea how hilarious you are. If only people could hear the crazy, silly things that come out of your mouth.

And your ridiculous dance moves, your funny songs, your endless jokes...

I love how much laughter you bring into my life. There is hardly ever a dull moment with you.

I love that we can be two perfectly sensible adults one minute and two absolute fools the next!

You get my foolishness, I get yours, and neither of us ever has to pretend.

Our silly dances, random nonsense, ridiculous jokes and all the stupid things we do together make me so happy.

I love having a husband I can be completely foolish with!

I love our conversations.

We can spend ages talking about our future, life, something we've watched, or the most random topic imaginable.

We have so many inside jokes that probably wouldn't make sense to anyone else!

I love that we can have deep, meaningful conversations and still find ourselves laughing about something utterly ridiculous five minutes later.

Your mind fascinates me!

One minute you're telling me about black holes, the next it's about the universe, politics, the economy, theology, or something else I didn't even know I wanted to know.

I absolutely love your little nuggets of wisdom.

You have this wonderful curiosity about the world, and I love listening to you explain all the interesting things you've learned. I genuinely learn so much from you.

I admire the way you express yourself, your command of English, and your ability to notice details that completely escape me.

For example, watching a movie with you is such an experience! The way you interpret the plot, spot the foreshadowing, predict a character's role, or notice something about a camera shot that I wouldn't have thought twice about.

I just love how observant and intelligent you are.

You genuinely care about my wellbeing, and you motivate me to take up healthy habits, like exercising, eating and sleeping, even though I don't always succeed.

I will always remember the efforts you've made and continue to make for me, like baking banana cakes for me to make it easy for me to take protein powder, eating with me to boost my appetite, and encouraging me to go to the gym.

These thoughtful gestures make me feel so loved.

It amazes me how much you remember about my work.

I'll mention a colleague or a project in passing, and months later you'll know exactly who or what I'm talking about. Sometimes you remember things I've almost forgotten telling you!

I love that you listen, ask questions and follow up on the things happening in my life.

You make me feel so heard and understood.

I love how open and willing you are to enjoy things that wouldn't ordinarily interest you, simply because you know I love them.

Like embracing my love of travelling and planning our beautiful trip to Greece, and watching Nigerian movies with me!

And I love that you actually WATCH the movies, analyse the plots, comment on the acting and laugh with me even when they're absolutely terrible.

You've made things I already loved even more enjoyable.

I love how easily you blend in with my friends, even though you're not naturally the most social person.

You'll join our outings, hang out with us when they visit, laugh and have fun with everyone. You've even cooked for my friends on several occasions!

It makes me so happy that the people I love can feel so comfortable around you.

You make it so easy for my worlds to fit together.

You understand that we're different in some ways, especially when it comes to being social, and you've never made that a problem.

Sometimes you'll come out with me and my friends, and other times you're perfectly happy for me to go and enjoy myself.

You trust me, respect my independence and never make me feel guilty for being myself.

I love the freedom and peace that come with that trust.

There is something I deeply admire about how comfortable you are with your own choices.

You don't need to drink, go clubbing or follow what everyone else is doing to enjoy yourself.

You know what you like, what you believe in and what works for you.

I admire your self-discipline and the quiet confidence with which you live your life. It's one of the many things I respect about you.

I love how open and transparent you are with me.

Your phone can be anywhere in the house, and you've never made me feel uncomfortable about having access to it.

It's not really about the phone. It's about the openness, honesty and reassurance that come with knowing we have nothing to hide from each other.

I love that I can trust you so completely. It gives me so much peace.

I love seeing the relationship you have with your mum and siblings, and how much you genuinely care about them.

And I love that you extend that same kindness and respect to my own family.

The way you treat my mum, my siblings and my dad means so much to me.

It always makes me smile when Dad talks about what a lovely, gentle man you are. He sees what I see too!

I see how hard you work, my love.

I see the effort you put into your jobs and everything you do to make sure we're comfortable and building a stable future together.

I know it hasn't always been easy, and I know some days are harder than others.

But I admire your determination and your willingness to keep pushing forward.

I'm so proud of you, and I hope you know that.

One of the sweetest things about you is how genuinely appreciative you are.

It doesn't take some enormous gesture to make you happy.

Even when I do something small, you notice it, thank me and make me feel appreciated.

I love that about you. You have such a simple, beautiful way of finding happiness in the little things.

And it makes me want to keep doing things that make you smile.

I absolutely love your artistic side!

You're so talented at drawing, and I admire the creativity behind the things you come up with.

I especially loved seeing you develop the concept and initial sketches for our family crest. It was such a lovely reminder of how imaginative you are.

And between you and me, I really hope some of our future children inherit that talent, because they certainly won't be getting it from me!

I've always wanted a marriage where we could grow spiritually together, pray together and build a family grounded in faith.

I wasn't sure how we would navigate that with our different Christian backgrounds, but you've made it so easy.

I love our morning readings, the scriptures we reflect on, our discussions and the prayers we share.

I love how committed you've been to making this part of our lives.

It means more to me than I can explain.