Valentines Day Is For Old People

There was a time when Valentine's Day was really exciting.  You know, when I had more hair on my head than on my chin, and my boobs were where the good Lord intended, and not hovering somewhere around my navel.  I would arise early to carefully curl my solid red locks to perfection, apply my Dr. Pepper lip gloss, my gunnie sack dress and my cork wedgie shoes and wait........wait for the flowers, balloons and heart shaped box of chocolates to arrive.  Once it had arrived, I would proudly stand in front of the fireplace hearth as my mother snapped polaroids of me and my booty, well not MY booty of course, but my Valentine's Day booty!  Once the polaroids had dried and reached their intended color I would race to my room and call the sendee of the Valentines and proclaim my undying love for the lucky fella.  

As time passed, Valentine's Day became less and less exciting.  It became just another day to spend much needed money on overpriced cards, and the candy??  Who needed it?  After three kids my ever expanding waistline certainly didn't need it, and roses were way too expensive for our limited budget and they just wilted and died and ended up in the trash.  My idea of a proper Valentine's Day gift was more along the lines of a new Dooney and Bourke purse or a gift card to a day spa, but who can afford that?  So, Valentine's Day went unrecognized for the most part.  I secretly hated my coworkers and ladies at church who would brag about their WONDERFUL Valentine's Day experiences, describing their gifts of Victoria Secret lingerie, chocolate dipped strawberries, fancy dinners and sparkling cider.  All while I wondered how we were going to afford to pay for braces and Kendra's latest traffic ticket!!  For me, Valentine's Day totally sucked!!

As time went on and my children became teenagers, I found myself in the Valentine's aisle at Wal Mart with my son Zack searching for that perfect stuffed animal and box of chocolates for his latest girlfriend.  And I watched as Kendra waited impatiently for her Valentine's Day goodies to arrive, and I, as my own mother did, forced her to pose as I snapped photos of the digital kind......... death to the polaroid!!  I would pick them up from school on Valentine's Day struggling to get the balloons, oversized teddy bears, cards and candy into the car, anticipating getting home and raiding their Valentine's Day take.  I always jacked their hard candy hearts, my personal fave.  Valentine's Day was no longer about me or my hubby, it was all about the kids.

Zack got married, and then Kendra, so now, how Valentine's Day played out in their lives was all on them.   And Haley???  Well she has proclaimed that she is never getting married and will forever be alone, which scares the doo doo out of me, because to me, that is interpreted, forever at home!!

So, as this Valentine's Day approached and I find myself a two-time Grandma, I pondered what Valentine's Day would mean for me.  I had to listen to Haley bemoan the fact that she is alone and that she and her other unfortunate friends were going to skype their evening away, discussing their joint aloneness and be miserable in general.  I stood in front of the mirror and forlornly examined the large amount of gray in my once lustrous locks and wondered why I look six months pregnant when my ovaries have long since died and given up the ghost.  And what in the world has happened to my rear end??  It's hanging dangerously low, and I always wanted dimples on my cheeks, just not THOSE cheeks and not in the dozens!!!  At forty five years of age, this lady is showing signs of wear and tear........Valentine's Day for me was sure to be totally blah und unsexy.

I stumbled out of bed on Valentine's Day with one thought racing through my foggy brain, coffee, coffee, coffee!!  I walked down the steps toward the kitchen and there, at the foot of the steps waiting for me with open arms was my sweet husband of less than a year.  He engulfed me in a hug the kind that only he can give and suddenly, coffee was no longer on the brain.  As he led me into the kitchen, there, in a lovely vase stood a dozen red roses, a card addressed to me rested at the base of the vase.  Paul told me to relax as he poured me a cup of coffee, just the way I like it.  He instructed me to have the table set for that evening's meal with candles.  He then slipped upstairs and when he returned he held something behind his back.  As he strode to the refrigerator and opened the door he revealed a bottle of sparkling cider.  My knees went weak and my heart did aerobics as he winked at me and sensuously kissed the bottle before placing it in the refrigerator.  And then with one last kiss, and leaving me utterly breathless, my man was off to work.

That night we held hands as we ate our spaghetti dinner that he himself had cooked, the candlelight flickering off of our wine glasses filled with sparkling cider.  Haley was there, yammering about her lack of a valentine but my hubby and I only had eyes for each other.  It was a PERFECT Valentine's Day and I was in bed by 9:00!!  So yes, Valentine's Day IS for old people too!!  Wink, wink.