My Perfect Valentine’s Day

18 Years Ago…

My husband and I were newly dating when we celebrated our first Valentine’s Day together at Red Lobster. I think we waited over an hour to get a table. I ate at least a dozen of the restaurant’s garlic cheddar biscuits and ordered an appetizer of lobster fondue with a Caesar salad for my meal. I would also guess we had dessert because back then my metabolism was much stronger and my love for sweets knew no bounds. I got balloons, flowers, and a compass key-chain. He got a Dave Matthew’s Band poster…it was the perfect Valentine’s Day.

5 Years Ago…

I was 12-weeks pregnant with my oldest son and no one knew. The weather was harsh during this time, but I wanted to tell my extended family our great news all at once. I tried getting my parents and brothers to come to our house for dinner, and all of them made it except for my mom. She had been busy all day and ended up staying home. Instead of an in-person announcement, she got a floral delivery with one blue flower and one pink flower. The note just said, “Call your daughter”.

Kelly with her sister-in-law.

We also sent that same pink and blue floral arrangement to my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. The florist delivered it to them, at their rural home, during a pretty good sized snow storm. I will always remember my sister-in-law laughing about hearing a knock on the door and wondering who was crazy enough to be out in the horrible weather. My sister-in-law passed away two years ago from a fatal car crash, but hearing her voice this day in my mind makes for the perfect Valentine’s Day.

Today

My daughters talked with excitement this morning about passing out their Valentine’s Day cards to classmates. It is warming to know that some holidays make the giving part equally as important as the receiving part. My son had his preschool party for V-Day yesterday and I was fortunate to attend. He made a heart craft, ate cookies and oranges for snack, threw a ball at a decorated pyramid of cups, and played musical hearts.

I have gift bags stacked on the kitchen table that include new swimsuits for the kids, which means warmer weather has to arrive eventually. My husband loves cereal and is getting an extra-large wholesale type box of Fruity Pebbles as a goofy gift. I am thinking about making heart-shaped pancakes for dinner. I plan to end the night with all of us on the couch drinking root beer floats and watching the Olympics. It will make for the perfect Valentine’s Day.

What are you doing for Valentine’s Day? All of us at Family Footnote wish you an occasion full of love and kindness.

 

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