Isn't It Romantic?

I’m feelin’ the love….

Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite holidays! I am a romantic soul and lover of all things pink and sweet and sappy. My kids each wake up to find a gift at their place setting wrapped in heart-splashed paper, and rose petals sprinkled all over the kitchen table. I make them a dinner of pizza muffins, fresh strawberries, cherry jello and red velvet cupcakes. I pull out all my favorite romantic movies, just in case they’re interested in watching. I think it’s charming, but only Little Squirt seems to appreciate the tradition now.

My sweet husband and I always celebrate with a special dinner together. Last year I blogged about our first Valentine’s Day, which coincided with our second date. Fast forward two years later, and it was now our first Valentine’s Day as a married couple. We were living in an apartment in the ‘burbs, but Super Hubs worked on the south side of Chicago. I had the day off of work, and made plans to drive to the city to Super Hubs’ place of employment and pick him up, and then we’d eat somewhere spectacular downtown. I battled the traffic, and finally pulled up in front of his building. Just as he jumped into the car, The Valentine’s Day Blizzard of 1990 began. Big, white flakes began falling from the sky and covering the car. The streets of the city turned into a miserable mess. We decided to forgo eating in the city, and find a restaurant closer to home.

All in all, 10 inches of snow were dumped on Chicago that evening, and it took us 3 hours of slick, bumper-to-bumper driving until we finally made it back to our apartment. We were exhausted and crabby, but I was not to be daunted. We would have our mandatory Special Valentine’s Dinner out, I insisted, come Hell, High Water, or Ferocious Snowstorm! With the resolve of the juvenile, we jumped back into our car for another hazardous excursion to a nearby Olive Garden. Very few patrons were out that evening, and we sat at a table by a window and watched the snow fall. It wasn’t the romantic evening I had envisioned, but we enjoyed salad and pasta and wonderful wine.

Tonight Super Hubs is taking me out to a Puerto Rican restaurant a few towns over, because we like to try the new and unusual on this holiday. And we’ll sit and talk about Valentine's Days past. He is just as much of a romantic as I am, and I am grateful.

I wish you an abundance of love in your life, my sweet friends! And that you can look around and see all that is good and beautiful. Happy Valentine’s Day!