Mr. V(alentine) is sitting next to me on the couch rubbing my feet. Sitting here this Valentine’s weekend, happy, blessed, in love, I thought I’d expound on the reasons why he rocks.

10) He has natural parenting instincts – even though he has never had his own children, he has taken to Pumpkinhead like a duck to water and I have never, ever felt like he’s making bad choices in his parenting decisions. He helps him with home work, plays Wii, disciplines appropriately, teaches him new things, helps him to take responsibility for his actions and all without me ever having expressed a need for these things. Awesome!

9) When we fight, he listens. Sure, like every couple we have our disagreements from time-to-time. But not once have we left a disagreement still fighting. And unlike past relationships, he does not make me feel scared, intimidated or threatened. He calls me on my BS and when I call him on his, he owns it. We actually have healthy dialogues about how to solve our problems… together.

8 ) He’s a big softy. His “allergies” kick in at sappy movies, when Pumpkinhead says, “I love you, Papa {Mr. V}”, and at other cute times.

7) He’s a *man*. He loves to grill, work with his tech toys and build stuff. I love that!! He’s building me a window seat so I can cuddle up and read and he’s always thinking of great new things for the house. Reminds me of my Dad in that way.

6) He is an amazing negotiator. Mr. V owns his own graphic design business, teaches college and does a lot of real estate transactions. He rocks eBay and Craigslist finding barter deals and has improved the house tenfold since I moved in solely due to his ability to negotiate for the best possible deal and trade web design work.

5) He takes care of me. After a hard week at work, he presumes I would want to sleep in. I don’t have to mention it, ask for it, etc. He just gets up and takes care of Pumpkinhead, allowing me to get my rest.

4) He is considerate and a true partner. When he’s at the store, he calls to see if he can pick me up anything. If I ask him to drop off my drycleaning, he does it. He asks me to do things and isn’t afraid to take on an equal share. He anticipates my needs and fills them.

3) He makes me laugh. I really enjoy Mr. V’s company. We’ll be watching a show and both be thinking the same thing. He sends me funny things and his sense of humor is really similar to mine.

2) He makes me melt. He’s strong, tall, has beautiful eyes and a great smile. He holds my hand and cuddles me close when I need comfort. When people bring up his name, the grin spreads across my face and when he calls me, I’m thoroughly distracted.

1) He’s romantic. First e-mail to me said I might just be the neatest person he’d ever have the chance to meet. Flower/candy arrangement sent to me the day before he proposed said, “Happy Halloween to the sweetest piece of eye candy.” His proposal was creative and beautiful and the man wants to take dance lessons so he can dance with me on our wedding day. Swoon!!!

Bottom line – head over heels. Cannot wait until 10/10/10 to start our life together!