My husband Joe just celebrated a special birthday, so we went away with the girls for the weekend and did lots of things to create a celebration we’d always remember. We stayed in a cabin in the Catskills and went hiking, cooked incredible meals and yes, we may have shopped our way through a few quaint towns.
Joe and I have been married for 38 years. We’ve lived in 4 houses and raised 3 daughters. We’ve gone to lots of parent-teacher conferences, Broadway shows and family gatherings. We’ve travelled to Italy, France, Amsterdam, Austria and the Jersey Shore – and loved them all. We’ve been bored. We’ve been lost (literally, in Italy, for hours). We’ve been sad and confused and alarmed and elated. After all this time, though, there are still so many things I really like about him. As in, things I really, really like.
Here are just a few.
He can fall asleep anywhere. And will. / Expert user of Yelp. / He gets feminism. / He’ll stop work to take a walk with me, no matter what he’s in the middle of. (We both work remote.) / Loves Rocky & the Eagles. Intensely. / Obsessed with sleep tracking. / He makes me iced tea every morning. It’s on the counter when I come down. / When needed, he’ll put on a tux and attend an event with me. And he’s ok with that. / He’ll eat anything. And like it. / He makes me laugh. (Not as much as I make him laugh though.) / He’s kind. / If there is heavy lifting in the garden, he’s there. Same applies when there is a job that involves a lot of dirt. / He gave me a friendship ring from JC Penney – that I still have – when he was 17. / When we are in the family room watching TV, he’ll instinctively push over the ottoman so it’s close enough for me to put my feet up. / He can have a conversation with anyone. / Cooks the best meatballs. / Every Friday, he stands with me in front of the mirror in our closet and we take a photo for a “Friday Night Date Night” Instagram post. And every Friday, he just stands next to me in our closet. And smiles. / He can laugh and laugh at a commercial. / Every month, he takes cases of water to my mom’s, stacks them in her garage and puts 6 bottles in the refrigerator. / I’ve said this sentence to many people, “Joe Aleardi doesn’t know what it’s like to feel depressed or anxious. He’s a pretty happy guy.” That amazes me. / I’ve also said many times that if our friends could only invite one of us to a party, they would invite Joe. He’s fun to be around. / He has a special appreciation for red wine. Also has a special appreciation for steak, especially when paired with red wine. / The girls call him for advice. / For years, he has worked out almost every day. I so admire that commitment and wish I had it. / If a daughter in NYC has a piece of furniture that she can’t seem to put together, he’ll drive the 90 minutes and help. / The best dinner date. / He watches “Dancing with the Stars” with me. / He’ll do anything to embarrass our daughters in public. / Will go dress shopping with me and actually suggest dresses he thinks I’d look good in. / If the girls are coming home for the weekend, he’ll text them for food requests so he can stock the fridge in advance. / When I show him a selfie I just took and ask if it’s ok to post on Instagram, he always says sure. Sometimes he doesn’t even look at the picture. / His knowledge and comfort going through airport security – quickly – is astounding. / He’s proven again and again he’ll do anything for our family. / He loves our daughters – and me.
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