My Valentine

I'd planned to do all kinds of sweet things for Valentine's day. i was going to make little heart-shaped sandwiches for the kids and then bake cookies with them. I was going to go shopping and find the perfect card to give to Daniel. I was going to wear something cute and have teh house all cleaned up when he got home.
None of those things happened. Arlene was sick, and JJ compensated for the attention Arlene got by being extra belligerent and annoying. I didn't get the house cleaned. I didn't get anything done. And Daniel worked until after 7 pm so we weren't together anyway. By the time he came home, all I wanted to do was crawl into bed.
I finally understood how women say that they're not in the mood for anything romantic, because they're too stressed out from their day with kids. I was wearing a frumpy sweatshirt and fuzzy slippers and I could hardly talk myself into moving off of the couch. Ther was never any pressure, except from myself. Daniel didn't expect anything magical. Especially since he wasn't even home for supper. (He did come home at lunch and give me flowers and candy and a cute card, so it wasn't like he hadn't held up his end.)
It was a pretty bad day, really. Worse than the usual ones. And I know most people think Valentine's Day is stupid and worthless, but I like it, and since I hate sappy things, I think it's OK for me to allow myself one day a year to actually like a little bit of romance and sap. So I was disappointed with how it went.
Then we went upstairs and watched our tradition movie that we watch every Valentine's Day. And he gave me chocolate and took care of the kids, and at the end of the night, it just didn't feel like it had been that bad. Because that's what being married is like. You fill in the holes. You don't build up unrealistic expectations. You do what needs to get done for each other, and you hold each other at the end of the day.
I love my valentine. He's so good at encouraging me, and he loves me even when I'm a frumpy disaster.

For the record, we had our valentine's "date" on Saturday, so there really wasn't any good reason to celebrate yesterday anyway. But what can I say. I like chocolate.