Birthday Wishes

Last Monday was our 1st wedding anniversary. And yesterday was Greg’s 38th birthday.

I never got to meet Greg’s Mom because she was killed by a drunk driver when he was 17 years old.

I’ve longed to meet her so that I could thank her for giving the gift of Greg to the world, and especially to me!

What would I thank her for exactly?

For raising a son in this culture who is:

- So generous with his time and attention to others

- So thoughtful of others needs
- So affectionate, emotionally available, and loving
- So conscientious and responsible
- So trustworthy and reliable
- So sweet and endearing
- So dependable and loyal
- So supportive and uplifting
- So willing to learn and grow
- So able to be an equal, 50-50% partner in a relationship
- So willing to go above and beyond whatever is called for

I’d give her a great big hug and tell her she must have been the best mom ever to have raised such an amazing man!

For all of these reasons and many more, I am the luckiest girl alive.

Every day I marvel at how easy and joyful love can be when you have a wonderful partner who’s a great fit for you.

From this deep gratitude grows my mission to help everyone find their own soulmate love.

So Happy, Happy Birthday Greg.

I am so grateful you were born yesterday, 38 years ago.

You have been the biggest gift of my lifetime.

And I look forward to celebrating every one of your birthday’s together till we are old and grey and sitting in a porch swing, cuddled up, still so grateful for the joy our love has brought us!

You are my sun, my moon, and my stars- lighting my way with ever-lasting love.

You are my angel.

And I love you.

Thank you for being you.

First Anniversary Love

Well, one year ago today, I was standing in the warm, waining sunlight of a gorgeous Miami day under a white gazebo. The bay was behind me and I was dressed in a brand new navy blue pinstripe suit.

Friends and family were gathered around from far flung areas of the country and my beautiful bride was standing just inside the french doors of the Mediterranean-style house we had rented for the week.

Before long, Me and You by Kenny Chesney began playing and Jenn started her long walk down the aisle. Or more accurately down the stairs, across the tennis court and through the lawn to me where she sang the last verse of the song and spun me at the end. Definitely not your traditional wedding!

But what else could I expect from Jenn?

Jenn is nontraditional in almost every sense of the word. She's a psychologist who practices as a dating coach starting a membership site to help singles. She grew up outside of Boston but listens to Country music. She's a cute girlie-girl who drives a big pickup truck. And she's a person who sees things in varying shades of grey who married a man who sees everything in black and white.

But all of this is what makes Jenn so special. She's always challenging me to see things differently. To open my eyes and see different possibilities. To leave my black and white world and step in to her's, in all of it's technicolor wonder.

And all of this helps me to be a better, more rounded person. And I simply can't thank Jenn enough for that. For putting up with me and my stubborn streak. For continually pushing me, even when I push back. For helping me expand my point of view, even when it's uncomfortable for me to do so.

Jenn is making me a better person and I hope I am doing the same. Every day I love her more and more and our relationship gets better and better and I'm thankful for that, most of all.

Delighted In

Do you know what it's like to be delighted in?

It's an amazing feeling of being cherished and adored. And yes, delighted, as it tickles the inside of your heart with smiling love.

We delight in small children, we delight in pets- causing them to feel so enjoyed, so loved. We sometimes even delight in the wonders of the natural world. That comes naturally to most people.

But once we grow up- it's not often we get the gift of being truly delighted in. We forget to experience the wonder of each other.

So, to delight in your partner? Now, that's a beautiful, deep gift.

Greg has been especially loving lately.

It's not something you can fake.

It's in his warm eyes, the way he looks at me, when he tells me how much I mean to him.

It's in his broad smile, and the twinkle in his eyes, when he clearly is simply delighted by something silly I've done.

There is not enough delight in our adult life. And surely not enough delight between us adults.

So when Greg gives me the gift of being delighted in, it touches the very depths of my soul, reaffirming just how worthy I am to give and receive love.

That's what delighting in does for the receiver- it affirms your very worth.

Not that you need to know from someone else that you are worthy- because we all just ARE worthy. That's our natural state.

But the people in our lives serve as mirrors- and when that mirror shines pure delight- it's a grateful reminder that:

Yes, I am loved.
Yes, I can bring pleasure to those around me.
And yes, everything is right in the world!

That's something I didn't get enough of long ago, but when your partner offers it freely, it heals ancient wounds, bringing you back to your original state of greatness, where you can bask in the glowing light of love.

Dearest Greg, thank you so much for delighting in me. It may be one of the most precious gifts of all.

I hope you know how much delight you bring to me.

How can you, dear reader, give the gift of being delighted in to someone you love today?

Readers: Please share your own experiences of being delighted in!