It was a good day today. No heart-shaped cards or flowers or chocolate-covered cherries in candy boxes. No candlelit dinners or romantic music playing in the background. It was perfect.
I don’t know about you, but I do not care for the hype that the commercialization of occasions such as Valentine’s day invites. In previous years, going out for dinner on February 14 meant having to deal with traffic, parking in crowded lots, waiting in line and overpriced meals. Ugh. Who needs all that to be with the one they love?
This morning, being the man that he is, my husband gave me what I know to be proof of his true love: a cup of hot, steaming, fresh coffee. There is nothing I want more at 6:15 in the morning as I sleepily try to start my day with both eyes open than my caffeine fix, and my husband knows this. I am so blessed to have this man in my life.
The truth is we both forgot it was Valentine’s day. He called me up about ten minutes after having left for work to greet me belatedly — after having been reminded by a co-worker who rides with him in the morning. I was grateful for the reminder as it had slipped my mind. My six-year old daughter handed me a red lollipop with a small, heart-shaped card she had made. It was a great start to my morning.
It got even better when I had lunch with some girl friends. It was a long overdue get-together. There was a lot of laughter, a lot of listening and a lot of talking. I looked at each one of them earlier and was struck by how different we all were, and yet we shared the same spirit and outlook in life. We connect on a level of friendship where we look out for each other. It was certainly worth the drive to Toronto!
I thought it would be a restful and slow evening, but was reminded by my nine-year old son that it was their night to go to their chess club. Tonight turned out to be a fast dinner (thanks to whoever invented microwaveable rice cookers!) but not an unpleasant one. I looked around the table and was happy to be with my children, eating pot roast and hearing them tell stories. And they have so very many! So in a way, I suppose, you could say I had a quiet dinner. I was quiet, but my children weren’t — and I didn’t really mind it tonight. It was nice.
After hungrily eating dinner, my husband had to pick up the kids from their chess club. Before leaving, he said he just had to rush by Costco for something before coming home. I looked at him and knew what he was going to do.
“Please don’t get me any flowers. Really. I don’t want any.”
I knew he was feeling a bit guilty for not getting me a gift or card, but he shouldn’t have.
“I was so happy today,” I told him truthfully. “I did what I had to do, I was with people I wanted to be with, and we have a movie we can watch tonight. Please don’t get me flowers. That’s just too commercial.”
My sweet, tired but happy husband smiled. Today was indeed a great day.
Oh what a relief: I thought you had given-up computer for Lent!!
It’s always nice to “read” you. Our Valentine’s Day celebration looked a lot like yours. Paul and I had decided to go out for supper and leave our almost-12-year-old with her siblings. We would put the baby to bed and head-off to a nearby burger joint.
Around 10 am, Paul called me and said: “I need to return the rental car (he had been traveling for business that week). If you pick me up at Hertz, we could go for brunch.”
Well, that was great! We joined the useful to the agreeable, we didn’t go to bed late and we didn’t have to make the baby sleep on cue (because we all know that the more you are trying to put the baby to bed before heading out, the less the said baby will actually oblige you).
I was thinking “Man, has my definition of a romantic evening changed over the years!!”
Oh gosh, no…..I’ve been experiencing a slight case of mental block made complicated by an extra busy week. Thank you for the encouragement, and congratulations on your new blogging endeavour with Pro-Life, Pro-Women!
As for romance — yes, funny how its definition has evolved with time and age, eh? 🙂 For the better, I believe, always for the better, my friend.
I couldn’t agree with you more!
I feel strongly about pro-life and pro-women endeavors and would love to read Veronique’s blog on that. Is it ok if I ask for the link?
Here’s the link to the blog Veronique recently joined:
http://www.prowomanprolife.org/