Today is my beloved's birthday. He is not really into celebration. In fact, he has a list of clients and tasks and plans to work today just like any other day. Which is a little strange, because his family is very into birthdays and still insists on sending us gifts even though we are adults and live way down here in Mexico, which makes both of us feel loved and missed.

Every year when this day rolls around, I can't help but be grateful that he was born and is a part of my life. Heck, he practically is my life. So, even though he has no plans to celebrate, I still need to mark the occasion with a few of the things that make him so darn special.

• He is really funny. I mean make me laugh out loud funny. Over the years, he has honed his sense of humor toward things that I think are funny, so other people tend to think he is warped. (Come to think of it, I guess he is – warped by me!) When he is about to say something that he knows will make me laugh, he gets this mischievous twinkle in his eye so I know something really funny is coming. It's a serious twinkle, too, one that I can feel. Even if we are in the car and I am driving and not looking at him, I know he is about to say something funny because I can feel the twinkle. And he is almost always kind enough to not be funny while I am taking a drink.


• Whenever we are out walking, he takes my hand and gently guides me to the inside of the sidewalk, so he is on the side with traffic. You know, just in case.


• He tells me all the little things that other people don't: your tag is hanging out, there's spinach in your teeth, your shirt is on inside out. Believe it or not, that last one is a problem for me. I spend 10% of my life looking like I just came back from a quickie in the bathroom, which, unfortunately, is not usually the case. I just need to pay more attention when I get dressed. Chuck makes sure I don't go out in public looking that way.


• Whenever someone gives him a compliment, he blushes a little and doesn't know what to say or do. He just gets a shy smile and kinda mumbles a little.


• He is unbelievably smart. He can hold about a trillion things in his brain, and most of them useful. When I ask him something, he usually knows the answer. But, the best part of all, no matter who is asking the question, if he doesn't know the answer, he says - get this - "I don't know". Is that cool or what?


• He always does things the right way, not the easy way.


• In the middle of the night, when I hear a noise, he always gets up and checks it out. He never complains about being woken from a sound sleep. And when I am having a bad night, and keep hearing noises, he will get up and stay up so I will know he is watching, and I am safe and protected and can go to sleep. And I always do.


• Whenever he kisses me, he kisses me. He's not thinking of whats for dinner or the trash needing to go out. He is all in.

There you have it. The short list of things that make Chuck the one person on this Earth I can't live without.