Hey, you.

Yeah, you.

I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate you.

Not the sort of average appreciation that warrants some dollar "Thank You!" card. Like, the kind that deserves a parade in your honor, complete with marching band and thrown candy. Or a holiday in your honor. A bank holiday, so we can all sleep a little longer in your name.

I don't have that kind of money, however, so the written word will have to suffice.

Thank you for standing by me. Whether you're marching next to me to go kick some booty or you're literally holding me up because I lack the strength to stand. You've been there through it all.

Thank you for letting me be myself. Not the me who appears to the average Joe. The me with all her weird eccentricities. Every off-kilter comment or somewhat questionable joke is met with either laughs or complete disbelief at my either blatant ignorance or purposeful silliness.

You still accept me, though. Never have you said that my weirdness is too much for you to handle. Never have you said, "You are too much, and I can't with you anymore." I appreciate that.

I'm admittedly a pretty sunshine-y person. Ninety percent of the time, I'm all smiles and laughter and compliments, aiming to make someone else's day a little brighter because of it.

That other ten percent, though, I have to step back. I'm not an inexhaustible ball of fiery gas, which means there are times I'm cranky, sad, and possibly downright unpleasant to be around.

You stick with me one hundred percent. Whether it's to laugh with me when I'm happy, to lay on love and support when I'm sad, or to leave me alone when I need some space, you seem to know what I need even when I don't know what I need.

I'm optimistic, but you give me something to be optimistic about. I can only say the glass is half full if someone fills it first. Thanks for constantly filling my glass with happy memories and wonderful adventures.

Thank you for the late night talks, discussing anything and everything, from the possibility of soul mates to which fast-food chain has the best fries (will forever be Freddy's, just saying).

Thanks for everything you are and everything you do. Three hundred sixty-five days a year, you make me a better and better person by just existing. I'm incredibly lucky to have you in my life, and I'm forever grateful that this beautiful, crazy life brought us together in the way it did.

If I haven't told you lately, I love you, and thank you so, so much.