11 Reasons Why I Found Myself A Keeper

Every woman has certain things about the man in their lives that they love to brag about. The following are 11 qualities that I cherish most in mine, and if you find that the guy in your life possesses these qualities as well, then let it be known that you have yourself a keeper.

1. He makes me laugh.

He’s a funny guy, and that is more important than a lot of people realize. Let me explain.

When you laugh, the levels of stress hormones (cortisol and epinephrine) tend to decrease, which helps the immune system. Stress can throw a lot of your other hormones out of whack and can even mess with your thyroid, so when you laugh, you’re helping relieve stress which has a long list of its own benefits! Laughing has been shown to positively affect blood glucose, release endorphins (which can help with pain), and overall make you happier, so when my boyfriend makes me laugh, he’s literally making me healthier. He knows the appropriate way to go about making me laugh when necessary, and I love it. Most importantly, he knows how to make me laugh when I’m mad at him, which gets him out of trouble pretty easily.

2. We both share the same sense of humor.

Don’t you hate when you’re being sarcastic or you tell a dry joke and no one picks up on it, and suddenly you can start to hear the crickets outside? We laugh at the same stupid things, so it’s perfect. We watch the same comedies over and over, and we find ourselves quoting all the shows we watch together word for word and then laughing about it and quizzing each other on what episode of American Dad the quote was from and who said it in the episode.

3. I can always rely on him.

This is a quality every man should possess.

He’s consistent. He never lets me down, so I know if I tell him a time I need him to be somewhere, he will show up on time. I never have to worry about him being late, not showing up, forgetting to pick something up on his way home, or to tell his dad we will be coming over for a visit. If I ask him to help me with something, whether it’s doing the dishes or that I need help building something or putting something together, he always makes time for me to help me do those things. He is always prepared, and if something happens at the last minute? Don’t sweat it. He’s got it under control.

4. He’s a morning person.

I am not a morning person by any means. It’s in my genes, I swear. In fact, I don’t even like the light. I’m like a damn vampire. I come alive at night and love to sleep in during the day. If I need to get a big job done, I save it for midnight when I have all the energy. Curtains open? I shut them. My boyfriend is the opposite. He likes the light shining in and the breeze blowing through the window. When my alarm goes off in the morning, I hit the sleep button as many times as I can and sometimes one too many. He gets up directly after his alarm goes off, gets ready with a smile on his face, and always starts the day off with a positive mindset, whereas I’m always a tad grumpy and not in the mood to smile, but the way he is in the morning rubs off on me and puts me in a better mood. I admire this about him, probably because I don’t get it. It takes me a large coffee and an hour of slowly wandering around the house squinting before I am awake enough to function. He makes it look so easy!

5. He doesn’t sweat the small stuff.

We girls tend to overreact to everything and usually we vent to our significant others about it. We need someone who is able to put up with all of our dramatic ways. When I vent to my boyfriend, he has a way of making me realize that I care too much about some things that are completely out of my control. He helps me remember what is important and to let the little things go. Some things are not worth stressing over, and he has a way of making me realize this and calming me down when I’m worked up. I don’t know a lot of guys who have this ability.

6. He’s a perfectionist.

He doesn’t like to half-ass anything. If he’s going to do it, he’ll do it the way it’s supposed to be done, even if it kills him. If he starts a project he finishes it, and he will go about the best route possible to get something done the best way it can be. To me that is a great quality.

7. He listens.

I mean he actually listens rather than pretending to listen. He always wants to know how I am. He never fails to ask me how my day was, and when I start to tell him, he seems genuinely interested in hearing about it. I don’t personally know many men that are this way, and I adore it about him. Sometimes when I think he is pretending to listen, I make him repeat what I’ve said. He always repeats it fine. He’s a keeper.

8. He makes me better.

He is always encouraging me to be the best version of myself. He lifts me up when I’m down, has my back during the difficult days, and is constantly reminding me to chase my dreams, because if I want to do something, I have to do my best to work toward it, and one day I will achieve it. He pushes me in the right direction when I need it, and when I do well, he makes sure that I know he’s proud of me. The fact that he is supportive in whatever I decide I want for myself is important. No one should ever stand in the way of you being the person you wish to be.

9. He makes me his priority.

He is a very busy man. Between working full-time, coaching a hockey team, and spending quality time with his family (including me and our daughter), he does not have a lot of free time. Having said that, when something comes up and it’s something important to me or something regarding our baby…if dates come into conflict he will typically choose me over whatever it is. He is awesome.

10. He doesn’t sugar-coat anything.

He is honest. He doesn’t try to tell me what I want to hear, and sometimes he’s blunt and I have to swat him in the arm for it, but I love this about him, and I think more people should work on possessing this quality. It’s stupid to be unrealistic or fake with people, to say one thing but be thinking another. I’m not saying to go out of your way to hurt someone’s feelings for the sake of saying exactly what you’re thinking, but try to say what you feel (if your opinion is asked, of course) in a nice way, because sometimes people need to hear the truth and want to hear the truth. You should, however, know the difference between someone who is in need of a nice compliment and someone who doesn’t want to wear jeans that make their butt look too fat! Honesty is key!

11. He lets me know how much he appreciates me.

I don’t think he realizes how much I love this about him. He always makes sure to let me know when he’s happy about something I’ve done for him, especially when it’s out of the ordinary. He might say, “Hey, thanks for doing this today,” or “Thanks for remembering to do this for me,” or he’ll even thank me for making dinner, and those might be little things I don’t mind doing, but he always always always thanks me, and it puts a smile on my face every time to know that he appreciates me.

That is why he is a keeper.