My Valentines

Night before last,
Mr W and I went out for dinner to celebrate Valentines Day.
We chose the restaurant based on a gift card we'd received at Christmas.
Something told me that I should have the hostess check the amount on the giftcard
to make sure it held what it said it held on it...$50.00.
But my head just shook that idea off,
and looked at the menu in front of me.

Did we want an appetizer?
Sure! Why not?
Did I want steak and shrimp?
Sure! Why not? I could take the leftovers home to a 12 year old boy that loves both
Steak and Shrimp.
Did we want dessert?
Heck yeah, bring it on over!

I wasn't hungry when I got there,
but I so needed a night away from the yahoos,
that this was a great excuse.

Mr. W and I talked and laughed about our life, our kids, US--
sometimes,
no make that ALOT of the time,
we just have to laugh at how things go in our lives.
Kent lived quite the life before meeting me--
travelling all over the world
Greece,
Italy,
Germany,
Brussels,
Amsterdam,
UK,
Dubai,
and every place in between.
He's played golf at wonderful places like St. Andrews,
Pebble Beach, and a myriad other places that he accounts for by having a
different golf shirt or golf towel from each place.
He's been to concerts by the biggest names in the music business,
and flown in helicopters over and around National Monuments,
he even had the privilege of building the first tank that liberated Kuwait
during Operation Desert St*orm.
The man had quite a life before he met me and my band of yahoos.

We finally finished up and asked for the check--
I handed the waiter the giftcard, straightened up the table like I always do--
do you do that?--
Put the salt and pepper back,
put the used napkins on a plate,
you know, just make it easy for the wait staff to clear
once we're gone.
The waiter returned with the check and the card
to let us know that there was only $2.30 on the card.
There should have been $50.00.
Mr. W just laughed.  He wasn't even fazed by the surprise.

That's the kind of life-ride he's had since he's been with me--
never take anything for granted,
life is exciting and joyful
and most of the time you gotta hold on with both hands
for the ride's unexpected twists and turns.

Last night, after dinner,
Valentines' gifts were given-
in our family,
Mr. W gives gifts to the girls
and I get the boys.
Since we're down to 1 boy (Joseph) left in the house,
my gig is pretty easy, so I gave him his own big box of chocolates.
The Caboose received her own as well--
the best thing about getting your own box is
that you may take a bite out of every single chocolate
and put it back in the heart-shaped box if you want.
Now that Diana & Dara are getting older,
Mr W thought to give them goodie bags with
fun pink tones of nail polish and a smaller bit of chocolate.
They both liked that alot.
Diana brought home a german chocolate cake--
in her effort to be known as MOM'S FAVORITE CHILD--
which I did, indeed, declare for the house to know
because German Chocolate Cake is my most favorite kind of cake deliciousness.
Diana also brought home huge chocolate-covered strawberries
and bottles of Knudsen sparkling apple and strawberry ciders for the family to share.
Mr. W and Joseph brought home a bouquet of spring flowers and chocolates for me.

After dinner,
we poured the sparkling drinks,
passed out the strawberries,
and sliced the chocolate cake to everyone--
then went around the table sharing something we love about everyone sitting there--
including the dogs.

There was laughter and a few tears as we shared the tender things
we love about one another.
Mr W thanked me for being part of his life
and declared I have ruined him forever
from being a hermit and living in a cave in Montana.

All of the yahoos said
"I love you Mom, because you're my Mom."--
then thanked me for specific things that show them my love for them.
Which, as you might guess, just called forth lots of tears.
The good kind.
Nana said I know her better than anyone else,
which is both comforting and annoying sometimes.
Dara agreed and asked,
"How do you do it, Mom? How do you know what each of us needs,
and when we need it?"
I smiled, "Because I love you all, I want to love you in the way you need to be loved.
I practice alot--and you all know, sometimes I get it right, sometimes I get it wrong,
but I never stop trying to show you that I love you."
"That's what Moms do.", the Caboose said.
Yep. That's what moms do.
Valentines Day is over and life goes on...
hopefully we're all feeling more loved
because that's the point of the day anyway.

I hope your day was as nice as mine.