---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Here’s what I’ve got, the reasons why our…"
description: "\"“Here’s what I’ve got, the reasons why our marriage might work: Because you wear pink but write poems about bullets and gravestones. Because you yell a..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/187/matthew-olzmann-119616_love-means_here-s-what-i-ve-got-the-reasons-why-our_1155330.jpg"
---

#  Here’s what I’ve got, the reasons why our marriage might…

![“Here’s what I’ve got, the reasons why our marriage might work: Because you wear pink but write poems about bullets and gravestones. Because you yell at your keys when you lose them, and laugh, loudly, at your own jokes. Because you can hold a pistol, gut a pig. Because you memorize songs, even…” quote by Matthew Olzmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/187/matthew-olzmann-119616_love-means_here-s-what-i-ve-got-the-reasons-why-our_1155330.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/187/matthew-olzmann-119616_love-means_here-s-what-i-ve-got-the-reasons-why-our_1155330.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/187/matthew-olzmann-119616_love-means_here-s-what-i-ve-got-the-reasons-why-our_1155330.jpg)

> ““Here’s what I’ve got, the reasons why our marriage might work: Because you wear pink but write poems about bullets and gravestones. Because you yell at your keys when you lose them, and laugh, loudly, at your own jokes. Because you can hold a pistol, gut a pig. Because you memorize songs, even commercials from thirty years back and sing them when vacuuming. You have soft hands. Because when we moved, the contents of what you packed were written inside the boxes. Because you think swans are overrated. Because you drove me to the train station. You drove me to Minneapolis. You drove me to Providence. Because you underline everything you read, and circle the things you think are important, and put stars next to the things you think I should think are important, and write notes in the margins about all the people you’re mad at and my name almost never appears there. Because you make that pork recipe you found in the Frida Khalo Cookbook. Because when you read that essay about Rilke, you underlined the whole thing except the part where Rilke says love means to deny the self and to be consumed in flames. Because when the lights are off, the curtains drawn, and an additional sheet is nailed over the windows, you still believe someone outside can see you. And one day five summers ago, when you couldn’t put gas in your car, when your fridge was so empty—not even leftovers or condiments— there was a single twenty-ounce bottle of Mountain Dew, which you paid for with your last damn dime because you once overheard me say that I liked it.””

Matthew Olzmann

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The speaker lists quirky, intimate habits that create deep affection and partnership.

**In simple terms:** Small, odd moments bind love.

Key Takeaway

Celebrate everyday quirks.

Themes

love marriage intimacy humor memory

Mood

warm playful reflective

Type

Love means:1 Marriage:1 Mountain dew:0 Poetry:1 Rilke:1 Thirty years:0 Frida Khalo:0 Rilke Says:0 Essay Rilke:0 Thing Rilke:0 Rilke Underlined:0

When to use this quote

- dating
- long‑term partnership
- household routines

Key Concepts

personal rituals shared experiences affection

Questions to Reflect On

- What habit makes you feel most seen?
- How do you honor a partner’s oddities?

A Different Perspective

Not all quirks guarantee compatibility.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Mountain dew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mountain-dew/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/)

## Related quotes

> [Rilke says: Verweilung, auch am Verstrautesten nicht, ist uns gegeben - We are not allowed to linger, even with what is most intimate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/rilke-says-verweilung-auch-am-verstrautesten-nicht-ist-uns-gegeben-we/)

[Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/)

> [Playing Frida was hard and wonderful. I found such a force in her, bigger than me. I tried to make it just a woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarita-choudhury/playing-frida-was-hard-and-wonderful-i-found-such-a-force-in-her/)

[Sarita Choudhury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarita-choudhury/)

> [“Beyond the table, there is an altar, with candles lit for Billie Holiday and Willa Carter and Hypatia and Patsy Cline. Next to it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-maria-machado/beyond-the-table-there-is-an-altar-with-candles-lit-for-billie/)

[Carmen Maria Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-maria-machado/)

> [“In Letters to a Young Poe , Rilke says, 'The highest form of love is to be the protector of another person's solitude.' That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-kosmas/in-letters-to-a-young-poe-rilke-says-the-highest-form-of-love-is-to/)

Kristen Kosmas

> [(@) roses are red... ) violets are bluee ()(() please give me a mountain dew! )](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bbreezy/roses-are-red-violets-are-bluee-please-give-me-a-mountain-dew/)

Bbreezy

> [My first commercial ever was a Dr. Pepper commercial. And then I did a Mountain Dew commercial. A lot of soft drinks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-ventimiglia/my-first-commercial-ever-was-a-dr-pepper-commercial-and-then-i-did-a/)

[Milo Ventimiglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-ventimiglia/)

> [THIS IS FOR YOU TASIA I am not the type of guy who would call you at 3am and say I Love You..i am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shubham-joshi/this-is-for-you-tasia-i-am-not-the-type-of-guy-who-would-call-you-at/)

[Shubham Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shubham-joshi/)

> [The two circled around the back of the house, making sure that nobody saw them. Once inside, they found Patrick right where they had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-two-circled-around-the-back-of-the-house-making-sure-that-nobody/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Pepsi has a new Doritos-flavored Mountain Dew. No, we don't have an Ebola vaccine, but we do have the Doritos-flavored Mountain Dew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/pepsi-has-a-new-doritos-flavored-mountain-dew-no-we-don-t-have-an/)

[David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/)

> [Don't hate me because, u ain't ME, I'm doing ME, You do you... while I'll sit back and relax sipping my mountain dew... lol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becka-miller/don-t-hate-me-because-u-ain-t-me-i-m-doing-me-you-do-you-while-i-ll/)

[Becka Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becka-miller/)

> [Mountain Dew was my favorite drink through college; it kept me up studying for a lot of tests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-liddell/mountain-dew-was-my-favorite-drink-through-college-it-kept-me-up/)

[Chuck Liddell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-liddell/)

> [I have been drinking Mountain Dew since law school, it will get you revved up like an engine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phaedra-parks/i-have-been-drinking-mountain-dew-since-law-school-it-will-get-you/)

[Phaedra Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phaedra-parks/)

> [The Pennsylvania Game Commission has charged a man with going deer hunting with a handgun in a Wal-Mart parking lot. He is being charged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/the-pennsylvania-game-commission-has-charged-a-man-with-going-deer/)

[Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/)

> [When I'm in power, here's how I'm gonna put the country back on its feet. I'm going to put sterilizing agents in the following…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-carolla/when-i-m-in-power-here-s-how-i-m-gonna-put-the-country-back-on-its/)

[Adam Carolla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-carolla/)

> [I'm excited to join the Mountain Dew snowboarding team.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-gerard/i-m-excited-to-join-the-mountain-dew-snowboarding-team/)

[Red Gerard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-gerard/)

## More Love means quotes

> [Maybe that’s what love meant, both people thinking they were the lucky one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meera-syal/maybe-that-s-what-love-meant-both-people-thinking-they-were-the-lucky/)

[Meera Syal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meera-syal/)

> [“Isn’t everyone on the planet or at least everyone on the planet called me stuck between the two impulses of wanting to walk away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/isn-t-everyone-on-the-planet-or-at-least-everyone-on-the-planet/)

[Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/)

> [Love is doing what will enthrall the beloved with the greatest and longest joy. What will enthrall the beloved this way is the glory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/love-is-doing-what-will-enthrall-the-beloved-with-the-greatest-and/)

[John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/)

> [You have to love your country like an adult loves somebody, not like a child loves its mommy. And right-wing Republicans tend to love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/you-have-to-love-your-country-like-an-adult-loves-somebody-not-like-a/)

[Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/)

> [The overall message is 'one love,' which means love begins with oneself. If you can't love yourself, you can't love anyone around you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simphiwe-dana/the-overall-message-is-one-love-which-means-love-begins-with-oneself/)

Simphiwe Dana

> [“The most saddening thing is to admit that I am not in love. I can only love (if that means self denial - or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-most-saddening-thing-is-to-admit-that-i-am-not-in-love-i-can-only/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [“A couple hours went by, and the storm began to turn back to the sea. The dark clouds rolled away, leaving white, fluffy ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mcginnis/a-couple-hours-went-by-and-the-storm-began-to-turn-back-to-the-sea/)

[Joseph McGinnis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mcginnis/)

> [Believing you are worthy of love means that you believe I deserve to be treated well - with respect and dignity. I deserve to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suze-orman/believing-you-are-worthy-of-love-means-that-you-believe-i-deserve-to/)

[Suze Orman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suze-orman/)

> [When my son, Jack, was four, I had to make a trip to Los Angeles. I asked him if he was going to miss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/when-my-son-jack-was-four-i-had-to-make-a-trip-to-los-angeles-i-asked/)

[James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/)

> [“I long to see a radical shift in philanthropy that will come to characterize the 21st century. That is, a reclaiming of the root…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valaida-fullwood/i-long-to-see-a-radical-shift-in-philanthropy-that-will-come-to/)

[Valaida Fullwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valaida-fullwood/)

> [True Lovers doesn't count how many days , weeks or months they are able to be together for True Love means Forever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/km-ii/true-lovers-doesn-t-count-how-many-days-weeks-or-months-they-are-able/)

[KM II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/km-ii/)

> [Who can know what love means at the feet of the absolute truth?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sorin-cerin/who-can-know-what-love-means-at-the-feet-of-the-absolute-truth/)

[Sorin Cerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sorin-cerin/)

> [“Love means never having to shave your back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devan-sipher/love-means-never-having-to-shave-your-back/)

Devan Sipher

> [LOVE means NEVER having to say your sorry!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/love-story/love-means-never-having-to-say-your-sorry/)

Love Story

> [Love means nothing if you can't accept someone for their core values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-chapman/love-means-nothing-if-you-can-t-accept-someone-for-their-core-values/)

Katie Chapman

Browse all 516 Love means quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Here’s what I’ve got, the reasons why our marriage might work: Because you wear pink but write poems about bullets and gravestones. Because you yell at your keys when you lose them, and laugh, loudly, at your own jokes. Because you can hold a pistol, gut a pig. Because you memorize songs, even commercials from thirty years back and sing them when vacuuming. You have soft hands. Because when we moved, the contents of what you packed were written inside the boxes. Because you think swans are overrated. Because you drove me to the train station. You drove me to Minneapolis. You drove me to Providence. Because you underline everything you read, and circle the things you think are important, and put stars next to the things you think I should think are important, and write notes in the margins about all the people you’re mad at and my name almost never appears there. Because you make that pork recipe you found in the Frida Khalo Cookbook. Because when you read that essay about Rilke, you underlined the whole thing except the part where Rilke says love means to deny the self and to be consumed in flames. Because when the lights are off, the curtains drawn, and an additional sheet is nailed over the windows, you still believe someone outside can see you. And one day five summers ago, when you couldn’t put gas in your car, when your fridge was so empty—not even leftovers or condiments— there was a single twenty-ounce bottle of Mountain Dew, which you paid for with your last damn dime because you once overheard me say that I liked it.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Matthew Olzmann"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-olzmann/here-s-what-i-ve-got-the-reasons-why-our-marriage-might-work-because/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Love means"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-olzmann/here-s-what-i-ve-got-the-reasons-why-our-marriage-might-work-because/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/187/matthew-olzmann-119616_love-means_here-s-what-i-ve-got-the-reasons-why-our_1155330.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/187/matthew-olzmann-119616_love-means_here-s-what-i-ve-got-the-reasons-why-our_1155330.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/187/matthew-olzmann-119616_love-means_here-s-what-i-ve-got-the-reasons-why-our_1155330.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Here’s what I’ve got, the reasons why our marriage might work: Because you wear pink but write poems about…” — Matthew Olzmann",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Matthew Olzmann",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-olzmann/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Here’s what I’ve got, the reasons...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-olzmann/here-s-what-i-ve-got-the-reasons-why-our-marriage-might-work-because/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-olzmann/here-s-what-i-ve-got-the-reasons-why-our-marriage-might-work-because/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
