My Permanent Valentine!

I have a confession. I really like Valentine's Day. Don't get me wrong; I hate spending tons of money on gifts and trinkets for a holiday that is the epitome of shameless commercialization, particularly since we just celebrated Julie's birthday in November, Christmas in December, and my birthday in January. That said, I'm a sucker for the concept of a day spent letting the people you care about know how much they mean to you. I love buying roses, fixing dinner, and doing all the chores around the house that have been piling up because I'm too lazy to get them done (besides, if you do those chores on a special day you get brownie points; do them as they come up and no one notices)! It's even better once you're married. I now have a permanent Valentine that takes care of me, makes me feel special (even when I probably don't deserve it), and loves me to pieces. I love her to distraction, and, in honor of my beautiful Julie on this, our third Valentine's Day together, here are ten reasons I'm glad she's my permanent Valentine:

10. She's beautiful!

9. She doesn't mind my facial hair. This may not seem like that big of a deal. However, take a look at me in the following picture and bear in mind that we're BYU Mormons (where being clean shaven is almost a religion in and of itself) and this picture was taken when I proposed to her at BYU (she said "Yes" when I looked like this)!

8. She makes me laugh. Mostly with her, sometimes at her, but I'm usually laughing at least two or three times a day!

7. She has lofty goals. Yesterday she told me that she "didn't want a husband who is more educated than I am." Her ultimate goal is to earn a PhD and teach at a college or university. I'm all for it, mostly because all our invitations would say "Dr. and Dr. Scarborough"!

6. She's competitive. When I say competitive, I mean "in-your-face-I'm-going-to-win-if-it-means-I-have-to-break-both-your-legs" competitive. This makes for very entertaining game nights!

5. She's gorgeous!

4. She's brilliant and constantly learning. Earlier today she excitedly showed me an article in our current issue of "Natural History" that announced the discovery of the first beetle that has a venomous stinger. She also listens to me as I pontificate on everything from the current political campaigns to why I desperately need a new video game system, asking pointed questions that display her superior grasp of the subject at hand (like, "Will you die if you don't have an XBox 360?"). Who could ask for anything more?

3. She keeps me in line. Whenever I start doing something that smacks of meaningless rebellion or when I'm being cranky, Julie gives me her best teacher look and a quick "Patrick Lloyd", and I'm back on track.

2. Two words. "XBox 360". Yes, despite the poor showing in the recent polls (only 25% voted to buy the XBox), my wife has invoked her superdelegate status to push the tally in my favor! I love you, dear!

1. She is, by far, the most amazing woman I have ever met. She works twelve hours a day trying to teach 6th graders that don't want to be taught, then comes home and puts up with a husband who complains loudly to anyone who will listen (and several people who won't) about how hard medical school is. If that doesn't qualify her for sainthood, I don't know what will!

So there you have it. I am madly in love with you, Julie. Happy Valentine's Day!