1) I hate the way you make me feel so safe and secure, like there is nothing else in the world that I could have or long for that would be able to protect me and comfort me like the touch of your hand, the feel of your skin, or the promise of your love. I know there is nothing else that could replace that and that I am totally and utterly dependant upon you for that feeling.

2) I hate the way I need you so desperately, like the air I breath and the water I drink. There is nothing that can quench me or give me life like knowing that I am yours, that you love me and want me and need me, too. I know there is no way for me to achieve the feeling of belonging without that.

3) I hate your dedication and commitment to our love, our kids, our family and our marriage. I hate that there is no one else in the world who would take on everything that our family means, no one else who can shoulder the burdens we’ve shouldered together with such love and commitment to the end result, no one else who would have stood by what you knew to be the truth, even when it seemed like the world said otherwise. I know there is no way to say “thank you” for all of those things.

4) I hate the way that you can be my best friend, my worst enemy and my most passionate lover. You can be there for me and know what I’m about to say without me uttering a single word. You can say the things I need to hear and know when to leave me alone. You can hurt me beyond words with just a few and you can take me to places I never dreamt of going with the way you touch me and make me feel. I know that there will never be anyone else who will be able to do that.

5) I hate the fact that you make me worry about you the way you do. The dangers and potentials involved in your day to day work make me painfully aware of how much I need you here and how lost I would be without you. I worry every time you leave that in some way, you will not come back the same, that there will be too high a price paid for you doing your “civil” duty. I know that you must do your job because that is who you are and I hate that there is nothing I can do about that.

6) I hate the fact that you have such wonderful parents who have embraced me as their own and who have welcomed me into their family so completely. It is so rare that the relationships between the two are good, let alone great. I know that this gift is just that, a gift to be treasured and honored and given back as much as possible throughout the years to come.

7) I hate that you love to play with our kids like you were one. I hate that you know when I’m not well enough to do those things and you jump in and take my place. I hate that you are willing to love me anyway knowing that I struggle with things that most people don’t. I know that I could not find that honest, true commitment from anyone who loved me any less.

8) I hate that you have friends who hold you in high regard and seek your opinion and your time. I hate that you are held in high regard in our community and in our family. I hate that you are not only an ethical person, but a moral one as well, for there is such a big difference. I know that finding those qualities in someone are few and far between

9) I hate that I can count on you being there when we are old and gray. I hate that the plans we’ve made together will most likely come to pass and our goals and aspirations will be seen by our children as something that mattered. I know that we will leave behind a legacy of love and friendship that our children will measure their own relationships against.

10) I hate that in every place in this article that I had to use the word “hate” that I really wanted to use “love”. I love you!