This is an interesting long weekend. Valentine鈥檚 Day and Family Day. One thing leads to another, if you catch my drift. What? I鈥檓 just pointing out the obvious.听
Friday night you can choose to celebrate romantic love with someone you love madly, or just kind of like (or maybe just like for the sake of a Friday night. No judgement here.) Then you get the Monday off to celebrate Family Day, created for those of you who chose passion over caution in the aforementioned celebrations. Giggle.听
Either way, it鈥檚 entirely possible that some of you will mess up one of these two artificial holidays. It鈥檚 okay. It鈥檚 all going to be okay.听
The Carpenter and I have had many Valentine鈥檚 Days in our time together. They started off cute, with little token gifts and romantic dinners with menus only a student could afford: Alphagetti, a French stick of bread and sparkling fruit juice. Served on TV trays with taper candles, the presentation wasn鈥檛 important. A second-hand couch and small television to watch the hockey game. We didn鈥檛 put much value on things then. We were together. That was enough. We had no idea how fortunate we were then. We had no idea what life would throw at us.
Cut to present day: we鈥檝e upgraded our Valentine鈥檚 Day menu to baked beans and toast with ginger ale. I鈥檓 not kidding. I assure you there is nothing sexier than two middle-aged adults (let me believe I鈥檓 in the middle, okay?) enjoying the aftereffects of baked beans and a carbonated drink while they sit on opposite sides of the room to watch a streamed TV show. That鈥檚 how we Friday, folks. Valentines? Whatever.
We won鈥檛 exchange gifts for Valentine鈥檚 Day. We鈥檙e saving up for something that will spruce up our life: wood. Yep. There is a new shed coming this spring. Exciting, right?
We鈥檝e made a vow not to put ourselves into debt for any holiday that is intended to celebrate our love when what we鈥檇 really love is outdoor storage. Now that is sexy. No, you know what is sexy? A plan. Drawings. A budget. And a guy who can build it. Keep your roses and candy, I want a shed.听
Besides, if we鈥檝e learned anything it鈥檚 that love is best expressed through deeds, more than words or gifts, the kind of things that say 鈥淚 love you鈥� quietly but genuinely: a toilet roll placed on the actual toilet roll holder. Enough coffee left in the French press for the last one to wake up, with the understanding that the last one up fills the kettle for the next round. Washing the dinner dishes (or as I refer to it: foreplay), especially the gross pans that require scrubbing. Bonus points if you bring home parchment paper from the grocery store when it was forgotten on the grocery list, so next time, the pans aren鈥檛 gross. Oh, baby, that鈥檚 hot.
Family Day changes when your kids grow up, so a reminder to those of you with young ones in tow: make the day count. Do something fun, without screens (including yours), and give them your time. You won鈥檛 believe how much they need that. You won鈥檛 believe how much you鈥檒l miss it one day.
The Carpenter and I didn鈥檛 know how good we had it then, but we do now, and that鈥檚 everything.听
Happy Valentine鈥檚 Day to my Carpenter.
