so...

March 13th is the birthday of the most important person in my life.

Birthdays are kind of a big deal between us. We met on my birthday. We got married on the same "day" (the 13th, only six months later) as her birthday. The first time that we spent the night together was on my birthday.

But most importantly, it's a day that I get to pay extra attention to her. So, I'm going to spend some of that time right now.

I don't think that it's an overstatement to say that I live my life for her. At some point in your life, you meet someone that becomes more important to you than yourself. For the very lucky, that person is someone who lets you into their life, and lets you share every moment--the good, the bad, the ordinary, the extraordinary. And for the very, very lucky, that person feels the same way about you.

My day begins with Allyson. Normally, she is going to work, and since we work different hours, she wakes me up to say goodbye, I lazily smile and wish her a good day, promising to talk to her later in the day. At the moment, she is between jobs, so I wake to her being in the same room with me. In either case, it brings a smile to my face, knowing that she is there.

And every night my day ends with her. She normally falls asleep before me, with me kissing her gently and promising her a good nights sleep and pleasant dreams. Then I get to see her sleeping beside me for a while, which I consider special bonus time of being able to look at her. (Kinda creepy sounding, maybe, but hey, I'm opening up here.)

But the best part is that I get to be around her during all of my "me" time. And by that, I mean that no matter what time I am around her, I always get to be me. There are some people I have seen in relationships that become someone else when they are around their significant others. But Allyson and I are so similar in so many ways that we are always just...ourselves. She accepts my quirks as a part of me--and trust me, I've got quirks aplenty.

And on top of all that, she's beautiful. Truly beautiful. Inside and out.

And she has chosen to share her remarkable life and love with me. And now she's been with me for another year of her life, and I'm hoping for every year that I'm left on this planet. Which I guess makes me the luckiest man alive.

If this seems a little maudlin and sickly sweet, well, then obviously this wasn't meant for you.

I love you Allyson. Happy birthday.