Today was the Lovely and Marvelous holiday, Valentine’s Day. Believe it or don’t, I was actually prepared for this in advance!! Even got my “Girlfriend” card a couple weeks ago!! And yes, even though I’m married, I’m fortunate enough to be married to my Beautiful Girlfriend, whom I’ve been dating for 48 years as of this May 19!! Is that amazing or what?? And guess what? We still like each other! A lot even!! This is a very marvelous thing. We’re actually getting pretty good at this sweetheart stuff. Some of our “secrets” to a long and happy relationship are:
- We tell each other “I love you” at least once a day. Usually more.
- I often remind her that she’s the most beautiful woman in the universe, because it’s true (all other women are the second most beautiful).
- We kiss. Often. (I kissed a girl and I liked it.)
- We make regular use of the magic words Please and Thank You.
- We are best friends and treat each other that way.
Well there are probably a few thousand more reasons but I’ll just quit there. This year, she wanted to prevent me from spending $40 on flowers that are dead in less than a week. “No flowers this year, OK??” she beseeched me over the weekend. So I found a nice lily plant at the store with many buds, but no flowers (yet). After that, I went out to the woods with my chainsaw to bag the traditional Valentine Tree, then Mom and I will set it up in the living room and decorate it with the annual collection of Toilet Paper Ornaments, and the battery powered Monkey Lights.
My lovely sweetheart loves to deck the halls for every holiday, and Valentine’s Day is no exception. In addition to cupid knickknacks, valentine’s bears, frogs, unicorns or whatever else she finds cute, there are plaques with mooshy “Be Mine” sayings all over the house. When the kids were still at home, Valentine’s Day was very similar to Christmas in February. And of course Valentine Toys and Sugarcard Plumswere carefully placed under the Valentine Tree and then the whole family held hands to sing the ancient Valentide Carol:
(Sung to the Tune of My Darling Clementine)
Oh my darlin’, oh my darlin’, oh my DAARRLIN’ Valentine,
You are soft and very lovely, such a hottie, Valentine.
In the market, in the card store, I will find something so fine,
That my babe will want to smooch me, just because it’s Valentine’s.
Oh my darlin’, oh my darlin’ oh my DAARRLIN’ Valentine,
You smell nice and have nice curvings, give me sugar, Valentine.
In the bathroom, on the mirror, decorAAtions make me smile,
Cuz my baby puts ’em up there and they’ll stay there for awhile.
Oh my darlin’, oh my darlin’, oh my DAARLIN’ Valentine,
Please don’t leave them up till Easter, yes I love you, Valentine.
Well OK maybe we didn’t really have a Valentine’s tree… and maybe I just made up the song too.
After all the jubilation, we all sit down for a traditional Valentine’s Dinner of barbequed spare ribs, taters, maybe some salad, and of course some fake bubbly (sparkling juice). Dinner was followed by Valentine belching, general good conversation, and the exchange of Valentine gifts and cards. Following dinner was the traditional Valentine’s Day herding of the kids into their beds.
Nudge-nudge, wink-wink!!
The kids have been out on their own for some time now, so it was just my Honey Pie and me having dinner. I splurged and bought some scallops and shrimp, and sauteed with them veggies and mushrooms that we had over rice. YUMMMM.
Then we watched a very romantic biography of Edgar Allen Poe on PBS while enjoying fancy chocolate and sparkling juice. Well OK, maybe Edgar Allen Poe wasn’t so romantic. But my employer gives us Presidents Day off, so for this 3 day weekend I have some grandiose romance plans. It may be just a simple sign of affection, when I’ll jump out to greet her with my “special pajamas” when she least expects it.
Nudge-nudge, wink-wink!! Know what I mean??