Why it's just Tuesday around here.

I don’t have to go very far to be reminded that there must be something going on today. Everywhere I look there are hearts and overpriced chocolate boxes and flowers. I had to make not one, but two trips for valentines cards and treats for the minions classes. But other than that things around are business as usual.

I went out to breakfast with a dear friend this morning and she asked if Aaron and I were doing anything special for Valentines Day. Luckily she knows that all is good so she wasn’t concerned when I replied that we in fact were not. We don’t really recognize Valentines Day. Now before you get all upset and accuse my husband of being an insensitive man let me tell you why I realized that I don’t need today to mean anything other than Tuesday, February 14th.

There was a time when I wanted Aaron to be more unrealistically romantic. I wanted the flowers, the outrageous gifts, the spontaneous dates, the publicly proclaimed love and devotion of me. I was a young, foolish girl who failed to see things as they were. We were young, raising babies on a tight budget. We were in a state away from both of our families and the majority of our friends lived over 30 minutes away. Aaron was working over 75 miles from home and we had one car. Perfect conditions for him to be prince charming, right?

He did bring me home a gift one year. He was working at Robert Mondavi Wines in downtown Chicago. **The very Chicago that is home to the best hockey team in the world, the Chicago Blackhawks. On that day, Aaron walked several city blocks in a snowstorm to, “The Hawks Nest”. This was the official retail store of the Blackhawks. He quickly realized that our budget would not allow for the jersey he wanted to get me. Instead he purchased what we could afford. A puck. Seriously, a hockey puck. After we tucked the kids into bed he confessed that he had gone and gotten me a gift. He explained that he wanted so badly to surprise me with a jersey and presented me with the puck. It was heavy, and had the Blackhawk Indian boldly on the face. Some girls get diamonds, some get roses, and some get chocolate. I got what is quite possibly the most thoughtful heartfelt gift I had ever gotten.

I realize that my husband is not the mushy, romantic lead actor type from romantic comedies that I expected true love to be. But he has exceeded all of my expectations in earning my love and devotion by his actions. He is a do-er, he has to be in constant motion doing something. His father is like that, and he is as well by nature. It is not uncommon for me to come home and find that he has washed, dried and folded several loads of laundry. Has cleaned the kitchen and had dinner on the table. He greets me on weekend mornings with a cup of my favorite coffee as an offering. He gets me chocolate, often. It may not be in a hearts shaped box, but he knows that I loves Reeses and Heath bars. He doesn't bring me flowers from a shop that die a week later. He plants me gardens and gardens of flowers around our property. He clips some every few days and places them in a vase. He knows that I am ready to fall apart, so he holds me together, runs me a bath and pours me a glass of wine. He shoves me in the bathroom to soak while he puts the little ones to bed. He gets in the trenches and raises our kids. He disciplines, he guides, he teaches, he loves. He lets me scream when I need to scream. He holds me when I need to cry.

He is gentle, kind, compassionate, passionate and my best friend. He makes me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world when I would think I am at my lowest. Hair all a mess, no make up in baggy scrubs and a hoodie. And I fall in love with him all over again. As a young girl I wanted a knight in shining armor to make it all perfect. I got so much more than that. I got a Marine in a BMW who didn’t promise me that it would be perfect. It’s rough, we have had to fight hard for everything. But what he did promise, he has kept. He has always been by my side. He is my strength, my partner, my friend, no matter what. He makes me a better woman. This is our story everyday, not just on February 14th. He knows that a clean kitchen and a cup of coffee are the best way to make me weak in the knees.

How could that not be romantic? :)

** In case you didn't know. I am a huge fan of Chicago Blackhawks Hockey. And yes, they are the best.