Happy birthday, Nick!

Dear Nick,

Today is your birthday, as you well know. I came across this picture while looking through albums, and it brought back such good memories.

This was the best day of our honeymoon - a relaxing boat trip with interesting people, gorgeous clear water, and delicious sunshine. I felt like Turkey was kind of stressful, but in retrospect, this was the easiest, least complicated time of our lives together.

No house, no construction, no money worries, no kids, no eat-bath-sleep schedules. No tantrums. Well, almost no tantrums.

We just were. We got up when we wanted, ate and drank whatever we felt like, swam, took naps willy-nilly, read books, wandered around holding hands. We squandered our time and didn't even realize how much time we had to squander. It was lovely, being there with you.

But then we came back and there was the global crash and you had to work all the time and I got all pregnant and we moved twice and the stuff with my dad and the first baby and the C-section and the construction and the more construction and the second baby...

And yet, it is lovely being here with you.

I cannot imagine my life without you. None of it has been easy, but none of it has been as hard as it could have been. My world is so much better with you in it. You make me feel safe, you make me laugh, and you are the strongest person I know. We enrage each other sometimes beyond words, but life is never, ever boring.

I'll take laughter and rage over boredom any day. Boredom is easy to come by. Boredom is death.

Committing to you is the best decision I've ever, ever made. I'd say it was the best thing I'd ever done, but as you are well aware, we have two delicious, delightful kids, and they are stiff competition.

I love you more than sunshine.

Happy birthday!

Love,

Lisa