Hi everyone. This is Aleks and I have some big news to share. April 8th, 2015 marks the 34 year the earth has traveled around the sun since my amazing wife was born. So in her honor here are 34 things that I love about this lady!
1. She is an amazing wife. I never have any doubt about how much my wife cares about me. She supports me, puts up with me, and loves me everyday!
2. She's an amazing mother. She's kind, nurturing, caring and everything else a good mother is. She volunteers at the school, works with our kids at home and even teaches Maia piano. Our kids may still end up crazy wack jobs but I don't think we can blame it on her mothering.
3. She's an amazing talent. Her musical talents know no bound. Whenever she performs I am always impressed.
4. She cares so much for people. When we moved to Connecticut to start her performance diploma and my doctorate the first thing she did was bake cookies for the neighborhood. She then made us go to all the neighbors houses and hand out cookies and introduce ourselves. I hated it. But what can I say she cares. She cares deeply for her friends and offers herself to anyone who needs it.
5. She's a great teacher. For the last seven years I've watched her work with college voice students. She cares about each student, treats them all as unique individuals, and is as much a therapist as she is a voice teacher.
6. She's a great baker. This leads to too many treats in our house but man can she bake. I mean come on she makes her own marshmallows.
7. She's a really fast swimmer. Last week she did 8 x100 pulls in under 1:45 for each set. She leaves me in the dust.
8. She's an amazing writer. As you've probably figured out from this blog Emily has a way with words that is stunning. She's my proofreader for everything I do (except for this post, which she doesn't know about. Pardon the grammar and typos).
9. She's deep. Over our 10+ years of marriage I've discovered what a truly deep thinker Emily is. She's astute, thoughtful, and sees things many don't.
10. She has horrible taste in TV. It's because of her I know who the Kardashians and the Real Housewives of New Jersey are.
11. She's beautiful. I don't think she realizes it but she's hot as balls.
12. She infuriates me sometimes. By that I mean she challenges me, and makes me a better person because of it.
13. She loves an adventure. In our time together we have traveled to some great places and Emily is always up for an adventure. With her I've zip lined through mountains in Hawaii, walked through a private boys school in London, and been drunk on Champagne at the Moulin Rouge. She's up for anything.
14. She's fast to forgive. All it takes is a heartfelt and thoughtful sorry and she moves on.
15. We have fun. While we have our typical dinner dates we also have dates playing laser tag, batting cages, bowling, and everything in between.
16. She makes me laugh.
17. She listens. Some of us are quick to speak (me) she is quick to listen.
18. She's so creative. She crafts, she sews, all of that and more. But she has unique and creative ideas for everything. Her recitals are creative, her fundraisers are creative, she's just full of great ideas.
19. She's in it to win it. Whenever she takes on a new project she goes in head on. Nothing is done half-assed with her.
20. She's endlessly patient. She would probably say she doesn't have a lot of patience but when I see how she interacts with our kids, with me, and with others you see just how patient she can be.
21. She tolerates my crazy ideas (and sometimes even participates). She has supported me in my triathlons, half marathons, even my upcoming Iron Man. Every time I tell her I'm thinking of doing something her answer is always "Ok".
22. She's organized. She comes from a family of list makers and that level of organization has come into our own family. I admire that because it is something I "struggle" with.
23. She never sits still. This used to drive me crazy. Spring break would arrive and we'd be painting the house, or working on the lawn, etc. I used to wish we could just relax but now I kind of love our little projects.
24. She's not a hypocrite. She has a set of morals and values and she lives them.
25. She's smart. Like wicked smart and our girls are the benefactors of that intelligence.
26. She doesn't give up. Just because it's tough doesn't mean she's going to stop. I've seen her power through so many different things because quitting isn't an option.
27. She knows how to balance a check book. This is a sometimes overlooked skill set. I'm glad she has it.
28. She doesn't hide her feelings. She's authentic and you don't have to try to figure out how she truly feels. She says what she means.
29. She doesn't complain. There are times when she burns the candle at both ends but she never complains about it. She gets the job done.
30. She has a deep connection with her family. We still visit her grandparents when we travel back to the bay area, she talks to her cousins regularly and we have family reunions every other year.
31. She loves her San Francisco Giants and Wichita State Shockers. She's fun to watch a game with.
32. She mentally stimulates me. She's inquisitive, and wise. She makes me think and she has something real to contribute to the conversation.
33. She makes me feel like I matter.
34. She is an amazing role model to our daughters. She is teaching them what it means to be a smart, empathetic, talented, and selfless woman. They are in good hands with her as their mother.
