Happy Birthday, Scary Mommy: A Guest Post

Today marks the 14th birthday I have had the privilege to spend as Scary Mommy’s significant other. I still fondly remember that first birthday together: two kids so intoxicated with new, young love that it didn’t matter that we were underage and unable to toast the occasion. Oh, how much I thought I knew about Jill then, after just 10 months! I can unequivocally say now that I hardly knew her at all.

What I love most about birthdays is that they allow you to take stock of the events of one year: the good and the bad, the extraordinary and the ho-hum. Having celebrated every birthday together since we were 18, I’ve also come to view birthdays as an opportunity to recollect what I’ve learned about my darling wife over the previous 365 days. For instance, that first year after Jill was diagnosed with Level III Melanoma, I discovered that courage was at the core of her being. I also learned that she has a crazy-high tolerance for pain that, to this day, makes me look as masculine as Tinker Bell glowing at night.

Since then I’ve learned about the vehemence of her heart and the veracity of her eyes, the taste of her tears and the strength of her mind.

But it’s what I’ve learned over the past year that deserves recognition today here on this blog: the girl is a writer! The irony is hard to ignore. As students, Jill explicitly designed her class schedule around the likelihood of having to write papers, avoiding the words “term paper” like most people avoid a fallen bar of soap in a jailhouse shower. Me, on the other hand, I was a literature major with a focus in creative writing. I used to practice iambic pentameter for fun! I fantasized about a writing career that would afford me a generous salary and the freedom to work from home.

The time I’ve spent writing has dwindled over the years, as the demands of my career in public relations have taken precedence and the joy of spending time with my three children dictates my “free time” activities. Meanwhile, the once word-phobic Scary Mommy has smartly turned her homemaker gig into a career as a confessional author and domestic lifestyle satirist. She has the joy (and, admittedly, at times, the burden) of staying home with our kids and chronicling their days and nights on this blog. Through her witty writing, self-deprecating humor, and keen observations, Jill has done in just over one year what many more experienced writers fail to ever do: connect. All you have to do is read the comments (I read every one) to see that Jill has built a true community of men and women—young and old—from all parts of the globe, who turn to Scary Mommy to laugh, to learn, and most importantly, to connect. That’s the impact every writer dreams of.

So, on this special day, I celebrate a wonderful wife, mother, and author—a woman whose considerable talents continue to reveal themselves year after year. Happy Birthday, love.