I’m so full of love today, I just have to get it out.

It’s Joe’s 30th birthday! It’s time to celebrate THE ultimate collector of jerseys, sassy mouth Chicago commentator, puppy lover, fearless friend and ultimate hug giver, Mr. Earl Joseph Clark IV. 🙂

The poor guy hasn’t had the best of birthdays the last two years and I’m determined to make this one extra special.

Three days before Joe turned 28, we were stuck in a hospital and he had just been diagnosed with colon cancer. It was a scary time full of so much uncertainty. We did the best we could and brought the party to him and he put on the best birthday boy face he could.

Joe and I are so much alike in just about everything we do that it can be a bit annoying.  But our take on birthdays is very different. I LOVE birthdays!! I love the party, I love decorating, I love wrapping gifts and I love getting gifts.

I use to tell my parents we couldn’t put up the Christmas tree until my birthday was over so we each got our special time. You know, me and Jesus.

The whole thing makes Joe crazy.  He gets so embarrassed opening gifts and it’s maybe the only time he goes completely speechless, fumbling around for the proper thank you. The guy literally looks like he’s going to crawl out of his skin when you sing a little birthday ditty.  Yet, he goes with the flow and deep down inside, I know he does enjoy it… just a little.

Joe’s 29th birthday was a tough one too. We had just said goodbye to his dad who passed less then a month before and the entire family was still simply numb from it all. The heaviness that wrapped around Joe was an impossible weight to remove and I knew we’d have to be very careful with how we spent his special day.

Now, I should be throwing Joe a great big 30th birthday surprise this year, but I did it a year ahead of time.  I mean who celebrate a 29th birthday big? Well, we do. And mainly because I wasn’t sure I could talk him into anything else unless I literally forced him to be somewhere.

It was a makeshift party at the local Bucca di Beppo. I told Joe I had a work event and as we were walking in he stopped to take a picture. I said, “What are you doing?”

He said, “I have to take a picture of this and send to my friend, Tom, we always make fun of how weird this place is, I mean who eats at Bucca di Beppo?”

(SIGH)… not my finest party planning moment.

But we got him good inside and had a great dinner out with friends and the Florida family.

So here we are on Joe’s 30th birthday.  Again, with so much uncertainty but so many reasons to force a celebration.

You don’t know how many birthdays you’re going to get.  No one does.  So why not throw a surprise party for 29? Why not have cake just because?

Joe is the best thing that’s happened to me in my (almost) 30 years and he’s the best he’s ever been.  He’s real.  He’s passionate.  He says what he means and means what he says.  He’s my anchor, my partner and my friend.

So today I wish him the happiest of birthdays and even if there’s no way of knowing how many more we get together, I promise to make every day something to celebrate.