a pro valentines day reflection

Every picture tells a story. This tells of a digital camera that we once thought was cutting edge with it's amazing clarity. We used to just take close up pictures of random objects and oogle at the detail. ha. Those were the days.

This picture was also taken on my 21st birthday, a few days after Valentines day, and the first year of our marriage. I'll never forget how excited I was that first Valentines of our marriage when I woke up to breakfast in bed and a little black box with a birthstone ring from my new husband. What a catch! But that wasn't even my favorite Valentines day.

My most memorable Valentines was a few years later when we were living in Miami. Jeremy told me he had something planned that night but was top secret about it. He even made me sit in our car with my eyes closed the entire way to our destination, even as we stopped to pick up takeout at a restaurant. Finally after about 1/2 hour we arrived at Matheson Hammock Park in Coral Gables. It's right on Biscayne Bay and the beach overlooks the bay and straight across you can see the city lights of Miami. It's a gorgeous view. I assumed that we were going to the Red Fish Grill which is right on the beach but Jeremy parked a ways from the restaurant and backed our car up into a spot by the beach. He got out, opened the back hatch of our SUV, put the seats down and proceeded to pull out sleeping bags, his laptop, takeout dinner from Outback, and a bottle of red wine. Last but not least he took out "Sleepless in Seattle" and began to load the movie on his computer while preparing our seats. We had a romantic dinner in the back of our Honda on that warm night, snuggled in sleeping bags while watching Sleepless in Seattle, all the while overlooking the Miami skyline across the bay at night. Now if THAT's not romantic, I don't know what is. I mean, did he get this from a book?

Not every Valentines has been so elaborate. I think there have been a few years that we didn't even do cards for each other, we're not actually that big into even planning stuff for our anniversary. But I'm so thankful for a husband that every now and then surprises me and reminds me how much he cares for me.

So, say what you want about Valentines day, there's nothing wrong with a holiday that encourages you to take the opportunity to let your significant other feel special. I mean, really, once a year, let them know they are loved - is it really that hard?