To She or Not to She (looking for a Valentine?)

This image is © 2015 by Life As She Does It. Please link back or credit if any content or images are used. 

To know me is to love me…is NOT what most people say if they know me.  Don’t get me wrong.  I know people who know me do, indeed, love me.  Keeping it real, though:  if they KNOW me, AND they love me – it’s a dangerous cocktail.

I am not your average, uhhhh, (rephrase) NORMAL person.

I am a Jesus freak, a control freak…a freak of nature.  I have extreme obsessive compulsive disorder about having order, am obsessed with my husband, and compulsive about just about anything.  I love wine, hate whining, and whine about whiners.  I am extremely organized in some ways, extremely messy in others, and just plain extreme.  I am eccentric, but old-fashioned.  I am a good cooker, bad with numbers, and mediocre in almost everything else.  I want my kids to be independent, as long as they depend on me.  I'm very serious, and I'm very silly.  And I'm very serious about being silly.  I have a collection of unconventional hats, which I wear to conventional places.  I sing with every song on the radio, and with every song in my heart.  I am obnoxious, but long-suffering.  I am patient, but not for long.  I want to serve, and I find it hard to receive being served.  I’m always tired, but hate to sleep.  I make presents way more than I buy presents, and I love being present.  I love being on-stage and putting it all out there, yet I’m one of the most private people I know.  My living legacy is important to me, and the legacy I leave behind is, too.  I’m a tad narcissistic, and a tad self-loathing.  I’m a tough nut to crack.  I’m a nut.

I’m not the easiest person to love – ESPECIALLY if you know me.

I am sure, though, if I know YOU, I love you.  In some way, and by some show – albeit nominal or intense - I absolutely love you.  It could be the bread I made you from scratch, the prayer I say for you, or the hug I make linger for a long (and sometimes awkward) time with you……or just by telling you so.  But you can bet - I love you.

So, if you're looking for a Valentine:  To She or not to She.  THAT is the question.  Good luck to you, WHICHEVER you choose.

Hard-Working Valentine

Photo Source: http://moonstarsandpaper.blogspot.com/2007_02_01_archive.html

One Valentine’s Day years ago, my husband asked me on a date.  Now, as married people trying to keep our marriage fresh, we go on date night quite often.  Sometimes it’s a romantic dinner out; sometimes it’s a romantic dinner in.  Sometimes it costs money, sometimes it doesn't.  A successful marriage is hard work and well worth it in the long run.

This particular time he took me out to dinner.  It was very nice.  I thought to myself how sweet my husband was as we were on our way home.  As we pulled in the driveway, I noticed he looked a little nervous.  Knowing my darling husband’s affinity for gas, I assumed the meal wasn't sitting right.

“I know this sounds weird, but I need you to stay in the truck for a few minutes.”  I had no idea what the heck he was talking about.  This particular Valentine’s was a little chilly outside and I had no intention of sitting in the truck to wait for the beautiful heat I knew was calling my name from inside the house.

“I don’t have a choice, She.  Please just trust me and stay out here for a few minutes.  I’ll come get you.”  He must have read my face.  But I’m no fool.  It was obvious at that point he had something romantically diabolical going on, and I wasn't ABOUT to ruin it.

Sure enough, a few minutes later my husband came to retrieve his chilly wife.  He came around to the door, opened it, took my hand, and looked like he was about to cry.  I realized that I, too, started getting a little nervous.

As I got to the walkway and was looking down in an attempt to watch where I was going in the dark in very high shoes, I noticed rose petals.  Lots and lots of them.  And they went right under the front door.  I stopped and looked up at Adrian, who REALLY looked anxious and weepy-eyed now.  He got in front of me, still holding my hand, and he opened the door.

Now to some, what I’m about to tell you he did may sound cheesy. And I don’t care.  That’s why he’s the best husband ever.  He IS cheesy, and he IS romantic, and he owns it, and that, Ladies, and Gentlemen, is why you can’t stop reading this particular blog post.  BOOM.

The door opened and it was dark, except for the ga-ZILLION candles.  (Maybe it wasn't a gazillion, but it was a lot – like the way you only see it on soap operas or Lifetime moves)  And Sade's  “This Is No Ordinary Love” softly rang through the house,  just like she was singing directly to to ME.   I looked down at the rose-petal path.  The smell of incense was the perfect touch as I looked at Adrian and he told me to “follow the path".  Around the corner and inside the room we go…straight to the bathroom. Wait.  That doesn't sound romantic.  Let me say it another way.  It led me straight to the Bath Room.  There, a hot bubble bath was waiting, with rose petals sprinkled into it.  On the side of the tub…the pièce de résistance – a glass of wine!! 

You would think it stops there.  But it doesn't.  He washed my hair for me.  He washed my feet for me.  And he cried and told me how blessed he was to have me. And all the while, Sade sang her lungs out.

He had really worked hard for me - for us.

And then (of course) as the story goes…Bowchickabowbow!!  (Now simmer down, Folks.  We married-and-deeply-in-love people tend to do that sometimes.)

Go and enjoy your Valentine’s Day.  If you have a Valentine, whether it's your spouse, your parent, a special person in your life -  take the time to put a little hard work into the relationship.  Trust me when I tell you the hard work will pay off in the long run.

 Thank you for being my Valentine every day, Adrian.  I love you so.

This image is © 2015 by Life As She Does It. Please link back or credit if any content or images are used. 

My Funny Valentine

© Julos | Dreamstime.com - Fun Chef Photo

Chelsea and I were told to wait upstairs as the preparation began.  We were in our loungy clothes and relaxing as we had been told to do, but we still heard banging and clanking and had no idea what was going on; however, we knew at the end of it a surprise awaited us.  Finally, Cameron came up the stairs dressed in black slacks, a crisp black button-down, and a tie, with a towel draped over his arm.  He said (very formally) "Ladies, I am here to accompany you both to your Valentine."  Chelsea and I looked at each other like he was crazy, and obliged.  He steered us down the stairs and we never could have imagined what our Valentine truly was.

The furniture had been moved out of the living room.  In the center of the room was a bistro table that was set beautifully, with two chairs and candles everywhere.  There was soft music playing and a maroon-sheet-turned-curtain put up to add to the ambiance and make the kitchen separate and a secret to us as to what was going on in there.

Cameron sat us down, welcomed us to Café Adriano, and informed us he was our waiter - the head waiter at that -  for the evening.  He handed us each a menu and told us he would return in a moment with our beverages, one of which (for me, in particular) was wine labeled 'Adriano'.  Uh!!  He was SO STINKIN' CUTE!  We looked at our "menus".  Are you kidding?!?  There are no words to do it justice...the only thing I can do to describe it is show it to you:

This image is © 2015 by Life As She Does It. Please link back or credit if any content or images are used. 

So in and out of the kitchen came Cameron, bringing us our drinks, appetizers, one of the most delicious and thoughtful menu items we've ever had, and beautiful dessert.

Just a few weeks before, Adrian and I had been at a garage sale and saw a chef's coat for 50 cents.  We both thought it would be a cute idea to get it and figure out something to do with it later.  I washed and dried it and hung it in the Laundry Room, thinking we would make that some sort of project later.  The reason I tell you this is because at the end of this wonderful dinner, our "waiter" informed us that we were the meet the master chef who had prepared this amazing meal for us.

Out walks my husband - beautiful man he is with a matching heart -  wearing the chef's coat we had purchased at the garage sale.  He held a white tulip in each hand, and presented one to each of us, telling both Chelsea and I all the reasons he loved us as he gave us each a tulip.  Needless to say, we were bawling our faces off, all in the name of love.

FUNNY how we are conditioned to think Valentine's Day always has to be  about romantic love...it's an opportunity to express true love in any fashion to those around you when we may sometimes forget to during the busyness of our lives.  Knowing Valentine's Day is tomorrow, the first thing that came to my mind for my post today was the selfless way both Adrian and Cameron shared their love for Chelsea and I - as  husband and wife, brother and sister, mother and son, father and daughter.  

Be sure to celebrate all of those you truly love EVERY day of the year - but take Valentine's Day just as a simple reminder of who those people are.

This image is © 2015 by Life As She Does It. Please link back or credit if any content or images are used.