What Love Is To Me

I am not so much for the hoopla of Valentine's Day.

I did love helping the girls when they were in elementary school create their boxes and cards for everyone in their class

from a purely crafting aspect, of course.

I made this!
(Totally tooting my own horn).

I am not a buyer of the Valentine's Day marketing scam.

I don't like chocolate.

I am not a jewelry hound.

I would not know what to do with a stuffed animal 

if Monte were to give me one.

Unless it sang something obnoxious like, "Wild Thing" 

then I would know EXACTLY what to do with it.

I don't use Valentine's Day as any type of gauge for my marriage.

Or love in general.

Anyone could buy me chocolate 

(if they didn't know me at all to realize I don't like it--not even a little).

Anyone could buy me a stupid tiger that sings a stupid song when you squeeze its stupid striped gut.

(if they didn't know me at all to realize how stupid I would think it is.)

Clearly I have issues.

But none of that is real.

Or personal.

After 18 years of marriage this is what love is to me:

•love is taking out the garbage in 10 1/2 inches of snow

•love is making sure there is gas in the tank of a vehicle driven by someone who never even looks at the gas gauge (ever). Ahem!

•love is still kissing you on the face after you just explained the horrors witnessed in the bathroom

•love is being able to handle the truth 

"I am too old to wear a football jersey", 

"These are not my pants", 

"We have lice"

•love is not being crazy at the same time in the same situation 

-parent-teacher conferences 

-coach interactions 

-phone calls with customer service 

-conversations with daughters about "outfits"

•love is prioritizing dinner time as family time

•love is time on the couch talking 

when the girls are upstairs pretending to be asleep

I made those letters out of twigs from our yard.
(There I go tooting again. Wait. What?)

•love is finding the funny, still

and then having your daughter tell you that she likes hearing you laugh downstairs when she is in bed pretending to be asleep.

•love is knowing exactly what the other is going to say but still really wanting to hear it

•love is praying for our daughters what we have found with each other.

The card Monte gave to me.

Not that it was easy 

or is easy

but that it was worth every bit of the work.

So Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope you get to spend it with the one who knows you best.