Happy Birthday Jake

Speaking of that man, today is his birthday! He has loved me unconditionally. It has taken me many years to appreciate being loved the way he loves me. Unfortunately, I had the miss conception that the way "love" is shown was a depiction of what you see in the media (flowers, chocolate, surprise getaways, candle lit dinners, etc) but guess what, it is not. When looking for that type of love, you or I missed the way Jake shows his love.  He is not one to buy flowers (but that may be my fault) but when I have been gone longer than anticipated, he calls to check on me.  While he does not do candle lit dinners with soft music playing in the background, he has learned the master of grilling steak, accompanied by hot plates, he has learned to make home-made fried rice, and he often delegates the cleaning of the kitchen so I do not have to do it. While we do not have many getaways, that is another way he shows his love because he knows I do not like to leave me kids and it causes me great anxiety, so our little getaways are watching a show upstairs when the kids are asleep or running for Mexican after a rough day or just because. So while, my birthday guy may not show love depicted in the movies (those are all temporary moments), he does much more and shows small, consistent acts of love. He does the morning routine at work (checks our boxes, etc), learns to master meals I love, brings me popcorn when there is fresh popcorn, clears his things off the table when he senses it is driving me too crazy, allows me to live near family, watches sappy shoes I like, outstretches his arm during shows motioning for me to lean in, keeps the exterior of our home nice, plants roses and tomatoes for me, helps me understand science stuff, and holds me when I need to be held.  He is my all! Some things that Jake enjoys are: board games with the family, Mexican food, a manicured lawn, pizza, cold cereal, grilling, traveling, movies, piano playing, and books.  He is the glue that holds our family together and leads by example.  Happy birthday Love!