This is by no means a comprehensive list.
1: He can always make me laugh. Yeah it's become a cliché, but it's true. My life without his sense of humor would be a bland and somber place.
2: He can appreciate things like musicals and YA lit with me and hope for the same depth in them that I do. He's a romantic in all the important and best ways.
3: He also taught me to appreciate things like, oh, horror, comic books, things that are part of me now that I could have missed out without him.
5: He thinks my YA drama style is worthy of imitation
6: I do my creepiest work by imitating him.
7: He cares about what's important to me. Sure, we've both got our competitive streaks that help us spur each other to be better, but the support is always, always there.
8: After eight years of friendship, dating, and marriage so far, he's always happy to see me, and I can't wait to see him.
9: He’s not afraid to sing.
10: He’s not afraid to dance
11: He’s a picky eater who trusts me to cook for him, the quick and the complex, the healthy and the decadent, and everywhere in between.
12: He’s happy to snuggle under a blanket with grilled cheese sandwiches and the same movie we’ve seen a hundred times when money’s tight.
13: When there is money to splurge with, he knows it will buy a hell of a lot more fun in the form of books, games, DVDs and day trips than in diamonds.
14: He's my critique partner, brainstorm partner, and, when all else fails, my designated driver.
15: He understands and forgives all my artistic neuroses. He gets the ups, downs, and compulsions the way no non-author could. All without either of us being the drugged out, ear-removing sort of artistically neurotic. That's part’s nice too.
I love you, Matt. Happy Valentine’s Day.