1. They strike a great balance between taking each other seriously and not taking anything else too seriously.

2. They’re not afraid to have (healthy) arguments, because they know that when everything’s been resolved, it’s never long before someone cracks a joke that immediately dissolves the tension.

3. Even the most mundane activities – like grocery shopping, doctor visits, and cleaning up after a party – typically involve laughter and light-hearted teasing.

4. Humor makes dealing with the uncomfortable parts of relationships (bathroom stuff, bouts of the flu, emotional meltdowns, and a whole bunch of other things) way easier to deal with and process.

5. Their shared love of goofiness and silliness keeps the spark going long after the “falling” part of “falling in love” has passed.

6. They can entertain each other for hours, even when they’re doing something as simple as laying on the couch.

7. The lighthearted baseline of their relationship makes room for a lot of spontaneity, adventure, risk-taking, honesty, and even vulnerability.

8. They can read each other well enough to know when it’s time to actually be serious, or when one of them really needs to get something off their chest.

9. There’s a lot less pressure to try and appear perfect to the other person, because perfect is boring, and weird is fun.

10. They know exactly who to text, call, or spend time with after they’ve had a really difficult and upsetting day.

11. And even if their problems aren’t solved afterwards, they still feel tremendously better and much more cheered up just from talking to or being around each other.

12. Maintaining an air of openness, trust, and acceptance means there’s almost never any pressure to filter their deepest thoughts, feelings, fears, and frustrations.

13. No day ever looks the same as the last one.

14. Being around someone you can be an idiot with almost always brings out your freest, no-holds-barred, most playful self – often the one you didn’t even know you still had.

15. They can bring each other out of sour moods with little to no effort.

16. No ideas are stupid, no questions are stupid, no thoughts are stupid, no emotions are stupid, no needs or wants are stupid. They have cultivated a relationship of acceptance, encouragement, and consistent support.

17. Underneath the jokes, the wisecracks, the laughter, and the goofiness, is a strong and unshakable sense of belonging, security, and above all, a joyful love.