St. Valentines Day

People have asked if we "do" Valentine's Day, and I'm not sure how to answer that. With every holiday (Christmas, birthdays, etc.) we reassess every year. Some Christmases we don't get each other gifts, and some Christmases we do. Sometimes we take a trip for our birthdays, sometimes we go to dinner, sometimes we do presents, sometimes we don't. Normally for days like Valentine's Day, if I have a great idea for something that I've been wanting to get him, or somewhere I've wanted to take him, or a meal I've wanted to cook him, I'll go for it. And I give him fair warning, such as "I got you a present for Valentine's day. You don't have to get me anything, SERIOUSLY, I just wanted to warn you." Because really? I don't want him to get me a present for the sake of getting me a present. If he has something in mind then great, or if he REALLY wants to get me something I'll give him ideas. I'm not hard that way. I don't expect him to read my mind. I always have a wishlist with a few things on it, and I'll spill it.

I also don't expect him to be "thoughtful" on Valentine's Day. I think the whole "I don't want an expensive gift, I just want you to be thoughtful" thing is a load of crap. Maybe that is easy for me to say since he's thoughtful all of the time, but you know what? We're busy. I hate having pressure like that put on me, so I don't put it on anyone else. You know what is thoughtful? Knowing that I've been busy and on a Thursday night I just wanna go for a run, come home and drink a martini, and play some video games.

For instance. Last year I had a great idea for Valentine's Day. There was a hockey game that night, it was $1 beer night to boot, and I had a buy one get one coupon for tickets. So I got us tickets, and then I thought that I would take Chris to Taco Bell beforehand because I think Taco Bell is the Devil's Food so he never gets to eat it (and he thinks it is manna from heaven). So I surprised him with that. I asked him a couple of weeks in advance "If I want to take you on a surprise date night for Valentine's Day, are you up for it?" and he said "Yes." And that was that. And it was fun and great and he was surprised and the key ingredient was the I FELT LIKE SURPRISING HIM. That was then. This year? Not so much. And that is also no big deal for us.

So yesterday we worked, and at some point I found a cute note in my bag. We left work and I dropped Chris off at the U. I went for a run, showered, made a martini, played some Donkey Kong, and chatted online with a coworker. I made Chris a martini, too, and at the suggestion of the coworker I put red food coloring in it and gave it to him when he walked in the door at 10:15pm. We played a game of chess and were in bed by midnight. No pressure. And for me, that is SO what love is all about.

posted by Ami @ Friday, February 15, 2008