Finding the Best in a Situation

I know some call it the “Hallmark Holiday” but I’m the romantic type [much to my hubs chagrin ;)] and don’t see it that way at all.

I find joy in celebrating being a couple. Because there are some days, some hours, some moments when it is just. not. easy. So making a big to-do about Love… I think its necessary. I think it is a great reminder what it is supposed to be. I think it’s too easy to take advantage (not on purpose!) of your spouse in the hustle and bustle of our crazy days. Taking a day to really say “I Love You” is needed.

But that’s just what I think.

In an ideal world Hubs and I would have found a sitter last night and gone out to dinner. Of course there would be no wait at the restaurant (in an ideal world, of course), we would be able to relax, sip our wine, enjoy our meal and when the bill came we would think, “No problem”.

That is ideal.

The reality is Hubs had client appointments till after 6pm. It was a school night. The restaurants were packed, I’m sure. … and when that bill came we would sigh and think “I wonder if it was worth it.”

So I started preparing early for our own little Valentine’s Celebration. I cleaned our dining room. (No small feat since it tends to be the spot where we set things that we don’t have a better place to set.) I planned out /two/ meals. I made the boys their favorite meal, Shrimp Scampi and I prepared Tilapia with our favorite cheese topping for my Valentine and me. The boys ate while I got the fish ready. I put the baby swing in the dining room doorway. Lit candles. Found books for the boys to read to themselves in the TV room. Pulled up a bottle of wine. I even made a pie!

Hubs and I ate a wonderful dinner around 7pm. Just the two of us… and the baby in the swing chatting to himself. The ambience was a wonderful reminder what our love has brought to us. A bustling household could be heard all around. The flicker of candlelight soothed us. The conversation flowed much differently then if we were in the kitchen, set for a table of six.

And that bill… it never came.

I hope you had a great Valentines Day. There are lots of challenges for our military families: deployments, shift work, long hours, PCSs even … but we can certainly make the best in any situation, don’t we!