The Spouse

Today is Eric's birthday. He picked me up early from work so we could spend the day together. We went straight home and took a nap together. Then we went to the gardens at Thanksgiving Point. Eric really loves walking around up there. The gardens are quite beautiful. I especially love the Secret Garden and the Rose Garden. I mostly love the gardens in late April during the Tulip Festival, but it's quite nice in mid-September as well.

After our wanderings we went to the restaurant up there called The Harvest. Eric used to work there when it was called the Garden Wall. We ate food. My soup was great and Eric's meal was great, but my meal was less than stellar. Much less than stellar. Ah well, when we go back many moons from now, I will not order that food. We also got free dessert because of the birthday.

And now for a few reasons why I love Eric:

• He is always, always, always nice to me. Even when I probably deserve less than that.
• He knows how to have fun.
  
• He is very observant of everything, especially of pretty things. He always notices beautiful scenery. When we're driving I'm constantly reminding him to watch the road instead of looking at the foliage, the sky or the mountains.
• He is funny. I wish I could tell you what makes him funny. He just is. Oh, here's an example. Today when we were leaving the gardens, we saw a fox near the road, and he stopped so I could take a picture. After a couple of tries I said, "All of my pictures keep turning out blurry." To which Eric replied, "That's what happens to me any time I try to photograph Bigfoot."
• He gets really excited about the accomplishments of those he loves. His parents, his siblings, me- anyone he cares about. He really is thrilled when good things happen for them.
• Sometimes he lets me win games and he doesn't let me know he threw the game.
  

And those are just a few reasons that Eric is fantastic. Happy birthday!