Today continues the celebrations of Spouse’s birthday. This man is…

…my rock, soul, and body armor in more ways than one. He has always been there for me through the travails of my life. In turn, I have tried to be there for him. I think our 26+ years of partnership, support, and love are a testament to what an enduring marriage built first on friendship truly means.

This past weekend, we worked around the house. That’s what he wanted to do — get ready for winter.

Yesterday, however, I had a day off from work for the U.S. Veterans Day holiday. It was an exceptionally pleasant day. Spouse wanted to go to a museum in downtown DC, so onto the Metro and off we went. Dressed as shown in our annual Fall photo, below.

Anyone say anything about the leather? Only one — “Nice!” a guy on the Metro said who couldn’t take his eyes off of Spouse.

We went to the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. I had not been to this particular museum since I was a kid. We spent about two hours looking at the portraits of notable Americans, including the Presidents. We wanted to see them before… well… readers probably know what I am leaving out.

We had a great time visiting the museum. When we left, Spouse was hungry. We thought of going to a local burger joint (Shake Shack) but the line was out the door. (Don’t know why… some people will line up for anything.)

Instead, we took Metro back to our home station and went to a restaurant (“Slapfish”) that Spouse thought he might enjoy. Results — meh overpriced fish and chips, served in a bowl, not a plate. Spouse thought that was hilarious.

On arrival at home, I prepared a special dessert treat the Spouse loves. He can’t eat cakes or pies, but gluten-free blueberry crumble — Yum!

I then baked potatoes, boiled fresh green beans, made a garden salad complete with our own home-grown tomatoes, and broiled a delicious rib eye steak. Spouse was so happy… and it made me happy to see his smiles.

Happy birthday, BikerBeef! May your smile continue to light my world. He is my World Champion!

Life is short: show those you love how you love them.