One night when I couldn’t fall asleep, Adam suggested we play “the alphabet game.” You pick a topic and then you go back and forth through the alphabet naming things within that topic.
So if our topic was animals and I was starting, I’d say “Ape” and then Adam could say “Baboon” and down through the alphabet. Then we’ll usually keep the same topic and go through the alphabet again, just to make it harder. It’s fun a little way to calm your sweetie wife’s racing mind.
A fun variation of the game we’ve started is to have the topic be a person in our families. It’s more funny than you might think.
So to celebrate being married for two years to the guy who will never hesitate to help me fall asleep or help me (or really anyone) with anything, I present to you the alphabet game Adam style, or the Adam ABC’s.
A: Adorable. Sure, you could say I’m biased, but I mean, come on, Adam is completely adorable. And not even just when he puts on my giant fluffy pink robe. Who he is simply makes him very easy to adore.
B: Baby. Adam is ridiculously cute with babies. He loves to hold them, babysit them, and point them out to me in public. Observe:
C: Compliments. Adam’s sweet nature makes him a master at genuine compliments. He says the most heartfelt things on the regular. For example, recently he said to me, “I can’t believe I’m married to someone who is truly gifted.” Guys, he isn’t! But he really believes he is and that makes me a lucky lady.
D: Dedicated. I love watching Adam be dedicated to things he cares about. Like teaching Sunday School. That sweetie will carve out time to read the entire assigned lesson, take time to write handwritten notes with his thoughts, and then carefully prepare a lesson. He is that rare breed of Sunday School teacher who has the knowledge, teaching skills, and most importantly heart to make that extra hour of church totally worth it. Adam really does have this pure desire to serve Jesus. I love him for that.
E: Extra. Adam can be a bit “extra” as the kids say when it comes to loving me, and I am all for it. Like last year on our anniversary, he ordered some real rose petals to decorate the house with. The only problem was that we went to Arches National Park that weekend so he couldn’t go and pick up the petals. So he sent his little brother to pick them up and hide them in a bag in our mailbox. So just when I thought our already very fun anniversary weekend was over, BOOM red rose petals everywhere.
F: Fixing. He is getting quite good at fixings around the apartment. Sure, I’m probably capable of fixing something (never really tried so unsure) but Adam will jump right on it. He can even take the dryer apart and put it back together correctly. I mean !!! Also, he is pretty dang good at fixing bad days.
G: Games. Adam is so fun to play games with. Our favorite right now is Wingspan. We have a fun little tradition going where whoever won the game on the previous round, gets to wear this totally adorable bird pin during the next round. It's sweet because while Adam never goes easy or lets me win, he does get genuinely sad along with me when I lose hahah.
H: Hiking. Adam is the best hiking buddy! Before we were dating, we hiked Mt. Timpanogos with some friends, and I tried to always put myself in front of him on the way down so that I could “slip” in the hopes that he would reach out to touch me to steady me. Haha I was desperate for him OK?? Insert some cheesy (but true) line here about how there’s no one else I’d rather climb life’s mountains with.
I: Intelligent. He put in so many hours to get through physical therapy school with flying colors. Just ask him something about muscles or movement now and he will blow your mind with facts! He can also usually identify what I ate that gave me a tummy ache before I can. #smartypants
J: Jokes. Adam is a very funny guy.
K: Kind. It would take a stranger about 10 seconds to know that Adam is kind. He has Fridays off right now but I joke Heavenly Father doesn’t really let him have days off because he literally walks outside to go for a run only to come right back in because someone in the parking lot needed their car jumped. Or he takes the afternoon to drive a friend to the airport or visit another in jail (both things that really happened).
L: Leftovers. This might sound like a joke, but Adam will always finish off leftovers in the fridge and I am honestly very grateful. He makes my minimal food waste dreams come true.
M: Music. Adam loves music. He always has a song to fit the vibe. Back before he was in clinical experiences for PT school and didn’t have to get up at the crack of dawn, he would often sit in the hallway and DJ for me while I got ready for work. I mean are you kidding??
N: Notes. Nearly every day (I’m not kidding) Adam and I write each other silly, sweet little notes to put in our lunchboxes. He will draw me little pictures, too, which is way too adorable. Please sample a two lunch notes below.
O: Orange juice. This boy loves orange juice and apple juice. And there is just something totally adorable about a person who gets so sincerely happy over little things like getting to have juice. I want to watch Adam get excited about random life pleasures forever.
P: P is for protector because Adam makes me feel safe. We have this joke that we think is very funny: When we are out for walks, he will jokingly sprint away from me, and in the absence of my “meat shield” as I call him, I get immediately whisked away by some perp. I promise it's funny. (also, its sincerely so nice to be able to go for walks after dark now that I have a meat shield for protection.)
Q: Quick. This might just have to be an inside joke, but for some reason I can’t count the number of times Adam has said, “What can I say? Your boy is quick.” Quick to run an errand for me, quick to find a solution, and quick to turn my frown—you guessed it—upside down.
R: Runner. Adam has become something of a runner lately, and I am here for it! The best part of our week might be our Tuesday morning runs together outside—and that’s not because the week was bad but because doing something good for your heart and lungs alongside the person you love is just such a win.
S: Service. Adam is sooo helpful to literally everyone. Whether it's getting his grandma’s Christmas tree down from the attic or helping my little sisters with physics homework, he is just so dang willing. He even one time moved some big ole sticks from out our back window so that I would have a better view (mind you our view is a small strip of grass and cinder block wall, but Adam was going to make it the best small strip of grass and cinder block wall for me!)
T: Taylor Swift. Ok, this one might also seem silly but I think Adam has become a Taylor fan on my behalf. He is doing that thing where you get into something not even because you genuinely like it but because someone you love does and you love to see them happy. He knows my favorite album, my favorite songs for various scenarios, and he will turn on songs or say something nice about Taylor to cheer me up. I truly love it.
U: Uncle. Adam is the sweetest uncle to baby Jack. To quote him: “A day without new Jack content is a day wasted.” Clearly, this is a man who gets life.
V: Valentine’s Day. Adam is very good at romantic gestures (as we established with E). This Valentine's Day, he surprised me with art prints I had wanted at Christmas but we decided not to get. He even put them in frames, wrapped them like presents, and hung them on the wall where I then unwrapped them. He wins the thoughtfulness game like every time.
W: Winner. I love winning pickleball with Adam. No one is asking me for marriage advice, but finding a way to compete with your spouse as a partner is so fun and has many a life lesson, like letting the little things go in favor of maintaining momentum.
X: Adam has X-ray vision. OK, obviously not really. But it seems like he does sometimes. He can stare right into my soul and know I need a root beer float. Or a hug. Or funny meme. It’s amazing.
Y: Young. I picked young because of how often I look at Adam and just think about how these are the good ole days, right now. When I see pictures of my dad around Adam’s age it just puts into perspective how fleeting this time of our life is (no offense dad haha). One of the greatest gifts of my life is to be young and in love with Adam.
Z: Zippers. Adam is very good with zippers… especially when they are on my pants.
ANYWAY I LOVE YOU HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!
Read our love story here.
