Valentine's Day (one day late)

This Valentine's day was one to remember. Not because anything big happened, but because I got to spend time with my valentine :-) Wes was supposed to be working all day or at least most of it, and then he was asked to take an appointment with a trainer which would have been great for him in preparation for a big upcoming ski-trip. But he dropped everything to come back to campus and spend time with me. He brought me beautiful roses that match our wedding colors, and he wrote me the sweetest card. He is really thoughtful when he writes, and he really means every word he says unlike me. Not that I don't mean what I say, but I kinda write as thoughts come to me, and I do so much more frequently and quicker for sure. He must have recieved hundreds of cards from me when we first started dating, and I would probably have continued to send them, but I have started considering the cost and now use email more often than not :-) But I absolutely love it whenever I get one of Wes' well-thought-out and adoringly sweet cards.

My favorite part was the handwritten certificate inside for dinner at the Melting Pot and dessert at 21 choices, an evening out we had discussed would be fun. It is for any night of my choosing! Wes knew that we couldn't go out to dinner on Valentine's day because of my volleyball practice, but he knew it was important to me (as it always is) to get time alone with him to just be together and enjoy each other's company.

Another reason why yesterday was so special is because Wes is not accustomed to celebrating, much less recognizing Valentine's day. He did not grow up with beanie babies and big cards awaiting him on the kitchen table every February 14th. He always thought of the day as a Hallmark holiday and found no good reason to recognize it nor spend money supporting the holiday that celebrates something that he celebrates every day: love. Thus, last year we decided that we would not do anything special for valentine's day. I tried to get around this rule by making him brownies and ice cream, and eventually it came out that though I understand that the holiday is trivial and needs no recognition, I want to celebrate it because it is a great opportunity to focus on the love that we share together and an excuse to do something special for one another or just be together. I decided that I did not want to celebrate Valentine's day with my friends and family and not with the man that I love and am going to spend the rest of my life with.

Thus, this year was the first of hopefully many more special Valentine's days that we will share together. I don't need much nor do I expect it; I just like to take the time to appreciate one another, and that is exactly what we got to do yesterday. Wes does not need to plan something elaborate or spend an exorbitant amount of money to make me feel special, in fact, that would be unlike him. He is simple in a really good way. He always makes me feel so loved by the little things he does for me like biking me home from volleyball practice when it is dark out, doing my laundry becuase we don't have machines at our apartment, and a million other things. Yesterday was just another reminder of how good he is to me and what an incredible blessing Wes is in my life.