Dear Readers: Recently, I asked you to write in with what you love most about your partners. I received enough responses to fill a book. I printed some on Valentine’s Day, but I’d like to print a few more — because these letters brought me such joy that it seems wrong to keep them to myself. Read on for a smile.

Dear Annie: What I love most about my husband is that after more than 30 years he is still my best friend, and he cherishes me. We started as friends, eventually became lovers, and then were married. Our genuinely liking each other as people has kept us together through the rough patches. However I look on the outside, I know my husband loves me for the person I am on the inside — and he would give his dying breath to ensure I was safe and happy. My mother told me that passion is important, and it may seem cliche, but you needed to like the person you are with or the relationship was doomed to flame out. I guess Momma did know a few things. — D. Perry

Dear Annie: I can’t properly describe what I love most about my wife in one letter, but I’ll try. I love her with every fiber of my being and could go on for hours with different stories about why I love her so much and what she has done for me. We started dating in high school and got married about three years later. We still celebrate the anniversary of our Jan. 7 first date. I send her a “love” email every morning telling her how special she is and what she means to me. We have three beautiful grown daughters whose careers are in the service of others. Since my wife is a nurse, I know where they got it. — MJN

Dear Annie: I met my husband, John, in September 1964. We married the day after Christmas in 1964. He was in the Air Force, and we traveled near and far for the nine years we were married. We had a son in 1966. In 1973, John developed symptoms of heart problems and had to undergo open-heart surgery. While he was in the hospital, I found out I was pregnant with our second child, and we were both ecstatic. However, he didn’t survive to see his new daughter, who was born in December 1973. It has been almost 48 years since he passed, and I still love him. I had his two children and that was enough for me. In 2006, my son passed away with pretty much the same problems as his dad. So, now it’s just my daughter and me. We live together and get along splendidly.

My husband was the love of my life. When I think of him (which is often), I still feel the love and thrill of being by his side for almost nine years. Even though I have missed him terribly over the years, I wouldn’t have changed one minute of the journey — except to have him live to see his daughter and be by my side again. — Alone but Not Unhappy

Dear Annie: I have had a miscarriage, a mastectomy, leukemia and chemotherapy, and at one point I came close to a mental breakdown. Through it all, my husband did not waiver. He held me while I cried over the baby we would never have. He kissed the scar where my breast was removed. He watched over me while I was going through chemotherapy — and helped care for my newly widowed mother at the same time. That, Annie, is a real husband and an amazing human being. — One Lucky Wife