Men's Guide to Women

A few years ago, I wrote my wife a Valentines letter that included what I had learned over the last twenty years.  I recently stumbled across it again and thought I would post a few of the points that still resonate with me today.
 

What I Have Learned... 

1. Age 19 – I am not bullet proof.
2. Age 22 - Sometimes I hear better when my mouth is shut
3. Age 25 - I realized I was not a good negotiator and paid way too much for my new car.
   
4. Age 25- I was not nearly as smart as I thought I was at age 20
5. Age 28- I learned that "take your breath away" was not just a figure of speech when I saw my wife in her wedding dress.
6. Age 29- I learned I was not the perfect man, as you subtly, but frequently reminded me.
7. Age 29- I learned what I look like with grey hair
8. Age 29- I learned you hate me/love me/hate me/love me. I now understand hormones.
9. Age 29- I learned what legally loving two women was like when my daughter was born.
   
10. Age 29- I realized “pretty” was nothing compared to “beautiful” as I watched you with our first daughter.
11. Age 29 - I realized they really do send you home from the hospital with a baby and no instruction manual.
12. Age 29 - I realized it was no longer about me, my daughter taught me how to serve someone else.
    
13. Age 30 – I learned what you look like with grey hair.
14. Age 30 – I learned that I was good at “swaddling.”
15. Age 30 – I realized I was not nearly as smart as I thought I was at age 25
16. Age 30 - I experienced the joy of buying our first house and the pain of paying the mortgage.
    
17. Age 31 - I realized how much I did not know about taking care of a house.
    
18. Age 31 – I learned I was not wrong, “beautiful” beats pretty any day as I watched you holding our second baby girl.
19. Age 32 – I realized I was a “Dad,” I had a new vocabulary, with words like “wipey” and “ba."
20. I came to understand that it took 40lbs of gear to go anywhere for any length of time with a  baby and a toddler.
21. Age 33 - I learned my wife did not know what she was doing either as a parent, she was just better at faking it!
22. Age 34 - I understood why my mother cried on my first day of school.
    
23. Age 35 – I learned I was really not very smart at age 30 after all.
24. Age 35 – I realized the smartest thing I ever did was ask my wife to marry me.
25. Age 38 - I realized how many true friends I really had.
    
26. Age 40 – I realized I was getting smarter, but I was still pretty stupid at 35 and that I have a lot more to learn.

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