Finally, Bo Derek and I have something in common! (If that last sentence made no sense to you, you were probably born later than 1980. Although, granted, I was only 5 when the movie 10 came out!) My wedding anniversary is right around the corner and the hubby thought he’d honor me a tad early with the following post. I’ve cut and pasted (in my opinion) the best parts. For the whole post you can click on Marriage Rules for Men. I love you Matt. Thanks for honoring me with your 10’nesses.
The Matt Rules – THE TOP “10”
This is the list of justsome of the ways my wife is a “10.” Opposite of the “man rules,” these are all numbered “10” on purpose to emphasize Beth’s 10-ness. Why do I call it the “Matt Rules”? Alliteration (i.e. men, marriage, Matt.) And maybe irony.
10. In the ordinary usage of the word, being an objectifying purely physical rating, yes, Beth is totally a “10.” For that reason you might never see a picture of her on my blog. I don’t deserve her, but she’s mine. You don’t deserve her either but, well… she’s mine.
10. Honesty. As I said, Beth figured out that being loved and being known go together way before me. She’s also pretty thick skinned (metaphor bearing no relation to number 10 above). She’s okay with NOT being liked by everyone. Take her or leave her, you will know who it is that you are taking or leaving. I’ll take her.
10. Humor. Beth is hilarious. Become her facebook friend and you’ll find out. She’s the queen of witty facebook banter. But I also know she’s funny because one of my first memories of her is hearing her beautiful laugh (her laugh is a 10 too) when I was trying to be funny. So you KNOW she’s funny. She says and does funny stuff around the house all the time, cracking us both up.
10.5 – We like the same bands and stuff… (inside joke)
10 & 10. Pursuit of God & Sharp Critical Thinker. Beth and I are both pretty analytical and critical in our thinking. I once told Beth that if she wasn’t born in a Christian home, she wouldn’t have ended up a Christian. Kind of a jackass thing to say, but what I was trying to point out was sociology not theology. Beth questions everything. I am WAY more gullible than her. If I was born in a non-religious home, I might have ended up a Christian if I had a couple close Christian friends. Sociology. If Beth was born in a non-religious home, she never would have become a Christian for sociological reasons (that’s a good thing). And lets face it, worshipping an executed Jewish carpenter as God is only explicable in terms of sociology or theology, both if which deal with power. Either God did this thing, or people compelled each other to imagine that God did this thing. With that in mind, Beth has pursued God beyond the limits of easy doubt and criticism. She is truly a “god wrestler,” like many of the biblical prophets and wise-ones but she has also CHOSEN to suspend judgement and embrace the sociology of the faith, committing herself to be with those who believe unquestioningly and learn from them. Her critical thinking combined with her humor also allows us to laugh at some of the sillier things that happen in the Christian world, even when other Christians don’t see it, or don’t think its funny.
10. Frugality. As I sit here, Beth has finished a weekend of Spring nesting. My living area is beautifully decorated seasonally and it’s seriously impressive. Beth does it all by shopping around, mixing and matching, repainting and recycling.
10. Perseverance & Determination
Beth finishes things. If Beth had a dissertation to write, it would be done. I need some of these qualities. Beth takes on a lot of frustrating projects. She may not finish them when she thought she would, but they WILL be completed.
10. How do say commitment and grace and adaptability all in one?
Graciabilitment? Beth and I have moved twice from places of stability so that I could take jobs with very limited stability or financial promise. In each place Beth has graciously adapted to her environment and what my life has been, finding us a place to live, making it a home, finding friends and in one case a great and terrible job that supported us (and actually continues to support us). In each place, various things have consumed me and made me insensitive to Beth. And she has demonstrated her commitment to me and graciously (grace is not without some fire now and then) called me back to herself. In this last bit I especially see the image of God in her.
10. Unmentionable. Anonymous fantastic attribute, you know who you are. Take a bow.
10. 10 years – See also (Perseverance & Determination and Graciabilitment – its number 10 above). Beth and I will celebrate 10 years on May 16th. A wise man once said, “If I was an alien and came down to study humanity, I would not put you and Matt together in a million years.” That’s a huge compatibility deficit to overcome. Thankfully (credit primarily to God, but operating frequently through the woman described in this list) that wise man was wrong, just this once, because for ME, its been a 10.
Melanie S says
This is awesome! I'm sorry I didn't see this before. What a priceless thing to have that. I would put it on my refrigerator for the rest of eternity. Way to go, Matt!
michaela says
I thought that this was a beautiful love letter written to you by Matt!
Julia Feitner says
I have to agree – you ARE a 10! Though I will bow in respect to the guy who noticed that LONG BEFORE I ever met you! Yeah, Matt for winning the heart and love such a great gal! Happy 10th anniversary – that’s SUCH an accomplishment! Though I must admit … you don’t look old enough to have been married that long! 🙂