Happy Happy Birthday, Baby

Today Jason joins me in being 35. Finally we're both in that 35--44 demographic, and it's not just me living in middle-age land.

The poor guy has been having a rough couple of weeks. His mom has been hospitalized since March and there have been times when it's looked like she wasn't going to pull off one of her patented miracle recoveries (though I am happy to report that she is finally beginning to turn around) and he's had some tough decisions to make at his job. As always, he has handled it with grace. I would have cracked under the pressure; Jason just battles on. He's calm. He's smooth. He doesn't show stress very often. He's like a guy in an anti-perspirant commercial.

He deserves a good day today. All too often, I use these blog pages to pick on him a little. But today I am going to list all the things that make Jason still the one (cue that Shania Twain song!) Happy birthday, Jason.

1. I find him very handsome and believe he gets more so as he gets older. He looks like the misbegotten love child of Jim Carrey and Cary Elwes, and I mean this in the best possible way.

2. He's funny. Really, really funny. And more importantly, he has passed his sense of humor along to our kid, who without those genes and that example, would just be dark and humorless like her mom.

3. He knows what books I want to read before I know I want to read them. I have blogged about this before because it amazes me. For my birthday and Christmas and our anniversary he almost always gets me a book, and somehow he gets it right every time. He knows if one of my favorite authors has a new book out before I even know, and he knows my tastes well enough to surprise me. Some girls like getting jewels or flowers; I live for the books and have a husband that gets this.

4. He makes just sitting around watching TV fun. He gets excited about the same shows I get excited about (Lost, 30 Rock) and makes watching each one after the kid's in bed kinda like a date.

5. He's my spider killer. This is a talent not to be underestimated.

6. He understands that some Sundays I just need a nap and takes Ainsley out so that I can curl up with a blanket.

7. He is very, very good at his job. He is absolutely the go-to guy at work which can completely suck but which he really complains about less than I would in that same situation.

8. Even though he's a registered Republican, he puts up with my liberal soapboxing and has even allowed himself to be turned a little bit to the dark side (he balks at the idea of registering as a Dem, but he now identifies as an Independent, so my work here is done.)

8. In short, he is awesome.

For those of you that know him, give him some birthday love in the comments.