Tell me something you really love or admire about your partner...

[perplexedandbemused]

Genuinely. Partners can get a lot of slack on mn, let's have a thread dedicated to some of the good bits?

I'll go first.

He's kind, and naturally assumes kindness in others. Not in an effortful way, it's innately who he is. I come from a very sarcastic family, and the sarcasm is sadly all too often meant belittlingly. But DH just lets it all slide off him. If I'm having an off day and haven't been kind, he accepts my apology with such grace and says things like 'I didn't take it personally, I know that's not who you are underneath', or words like that.

Being with him has helped me to become, and to continue to strive to be a calmer, kinder version of myself, and I admire and love him for it.

He's very calm, which is good as I am a major stressball. He is very loving. He adores our cat and he is her favourite human, which I don't mind at all as he deserves to be.

My ex sadly - she was the first person I truely had total and unconditional love for and loved her exactly as she was.

Reliable.

Curious and knowledgeable about the world.

Did vast majority of unplanned, emergency childcare over the years, as well as all the school parent-teacher meetings or sports etc events. Kids are now late teens and twenties and he’s still the one to attend emergencies or driving or other requests.

Driving force behind planning holidays.

His physical and mental strength. Kindness, sense of humour and he's very supportive and affectionate.

He watches out for people who might not feel included and makes sure they are brought in to social situations. He gives random people (both men and women) compliments. He can admit when he's wrong and apologise. When times have been tough he has stepped up and helped make our relationship stronger, rather than weaker. He's almost scarily intelligent, but a hilarious doofus in other ways. We can have really interesting and really funny conversations and he is never boring.

I should also add that he has managed to improve some negative behaviours (his parents are rather dysfunctional) over the years we've been together, and he doesn't draw attention to it or expect a round of applause from me for it, it's taken me telling him 'You know, you don't do X anymore' to bring it up

These posts are so lovely. I hope you all know how lucky you are. And I hope your partners know how good they make you feel! Wonderful!
47 years old and still trying to find some of this 😪

He does the best hugs, loves making me cups of tea (doesn’t drink tea himself), gets upset if he catches me making my own cuppa! He makes me feel very loved - I can see the love in his eyes when he looks at me

He makes me laugh so so hard. Obviously he has lots of amazing qualities, but the fact that he is capable of making me dissolve into giggling fits effortlessly after all these years makes me so happy. He's my very best friend.

I actually think dh may be the only person in the world that can preempt me being stressed and have a cuppa for me/ start mucking in with the thing he knows will stress me.

Also he’s got the best sense of humour and the best hugs!!

this is so lush! I don't laugh easily, or nearly as much as I'd like to. That's definitely an incredible trait to have in a relationship

He always supports me and DC, no matter what we choose.

I always tell my DP how much I appreciate and adore him and I show him too ❤️ lots of affection and love in our relationship. Hope it stays like this. Get scared reading about men on MN running off with OW.

He's intelligent, very good at critical thinking. He has really made something of his life against all the odds of life long chronic illness and I have massive respect for how much effort he has put in to getting to where we are today.

He's lovely to my Mum (despite them having strongly opposing political views) and gets on great with her, will take her out to do things when she visits if I am stuck working or something.

He has no headspace for reality TV and celebrity tabloid rubbish, same as me. He's really organised and doesn't rely on me to think of everything and then tell him what needs doing. He makes me breakfast and lunch every weekday and shares half the evening cooking. He does the food shopping without being asked and I don't need to tell him what to buy. He makes me way more cups of tea than I make him. I know none of that sounds sexy, but living with someone I respect is nice.

I don't think of myself as 'lucky'. I think having an equal partner should be considered normal, almost not noteworthy, rather than applauded as something special. Men who do not pull their weight should be treated as abnormal instead.

I could probably write a list of annoying things he does but will save it for another day!

Very very generous. He would give the shirt off his back for someone in need. Never ever tight with what ever money he has ( he earns well now, but he was 18 when we met and low earning and still never tight with what he had)
Looks after me extremely well when I’m not well.

My husband is the most patient man... I have bipolar and it's never phased him once, even during the ugliest of times... Proper Bridget Jones, he loves me "just the way I am". He cooks, cleans, works hard in Child and Adolescent Mental Health and spends so much time being present as a Father. Sure sometimes we drive each other crazy but he really is the greatest. Thanks for the lovely thread OP!

It's been 25 years and she's still the love of my life! She's alsoand best friend. She puts up with my moods and is an amazing mother to my kids. I'm very lucky.

My DH is in a secure home with severe dementia. I visit every day, and in that visit he tells me he loves me about 20 - 30 times. He can be violent, agitated and very distressed and has a one to one carer 24 hours a day and all of the carers have told me that I am all he looks for, all he wants, all he talks about.

Oddly, it has taken this to convince me that I am loveable. All our marriage I've known he loves me but he's never been one to say so very much. Now, at last, he says so over and over again and he's taught me the last of the very many things he's taught me over the years. I am a loveable woman. And I am so very grateful to him, and I love him more than ever because of this wonderful gift he's given me.

My dh is a great communicator - which is a fabulous skill in the workplace, but he also brings patience and a genuine desire to understand to our disagreements. I can tell him absolutely anything. He’s also one of the kindest people I have ever known.

@perplexedandbemused I told him as per your challenge!
His response to the first half was 'well that's exactly as it should be!'
The second part was 'yes, you deserve it'. 😊

😍

I loved and admired everything about my DH. Unfortunately he died last year, so if you’ve got it, cherish it.🙂

Kind, calm, gentle and present.
Sounds silly but we just get each other, especially if something has happened and the other is upset, so it’s easy to resolve issues.

@Boomer55 I am so sorry for your loss.

Oh @Boomer55 I’m so sorry for your loss

My DH is like this too and it's what I came here to say. It also extends to loving and taking care of animals. Even if it was a spider (which I'm terrified of) he'll rescue it and gently release it outside.