valentine's day 2014

I used to feel like Valentine's Day was redundant because we already have an anniversary every year to celebrate our love. It felt like another holiday that I had to think of a creative, clever gift for my husband and that is no easy task! This year was different. I've been stuck in a rut because I felt like I couldn't create anything in someone else's home (all my stuff is in storage) but then I decided to just DO IT! Valentine's Day is about love. It doesn't have to be about romantic love and I think a lot of the hatred for Valentine's Day comes from this pressure to spend a lot of money on jewelry or a bunch of time making a personalized memory book of all you and your special someone's pictures together. Sure, those things are nice, but they're not necessary to express love.

This year, I decided to show my love for my whole family, not just David. It was fun to see William's eyes light up and see him jump up and down when I told him I was making a special dinner. He watched me intently as I set the table with goblets (don't worry, Mom, they were the plastic ones for the boys) and put the chocolate pots de creme in the fridge to set. He was thrilled when Dad came home and they got sparkling lemonade and I put whipped cream and a raspberry on his dessert. There were lots of kisses and "I love you"s and that felt very Valentine's Day-ish to me. 

As for real romance, I wrote David a card and he got me some flowers (which has been our "norm" for the last few years). After dinner David cleaned the whole kitchen and put the boys to bed while I sat on the couch and relaxed (i.e. fell asleep). I thought that was the greatest gift ever but then it was 9:00 and I declared myself too tired to stay up to watch a movie so my amazing husband gave me a back massage (then a foot massage) and even tickled my back until I fell asleep. You guys - THAT is true love right there. And I just have to brag about my husband's massages. There's no carelessness in them. He has huge hands and does just the right amount of pressure... OK, this is getting a little awkward so I'll stop now, but seriously I think he missed his calling as a massage therapist! :)