Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day is the holiday of love. It triggers fantasies of beautiful flowers, sparkling gifts, and love in every girl's mind and anxiety & inevitable doom in every guy's mind.

Mark and I learned very early that higher expectations lead to a harder fall. Our first Valentine's Day was a complete disaster. It was not because of the traditions expected of the holiday, it was for personal reasons. The second time V-Day rolled around we thought we would do it right. We made plans to go to dinner with another couple to J. Alexanders. The pressure got to both of us and we ended up fighting the entire night. Third time's a charm, right? We did nothing. We got each other small gifts and I think we rented a movie and ordered pizza. We learned that pressure ruins everything. The fourth year, Mark sent me some beautiful Daisies to my work and we made plans for the weekend, but that night we fought over a stupid miscommunication. The next year we did absolutely nothing except give each other cards because Mark could not make in into town. I am pretty sure there was a fight about that, too. Last year, we were planning a wedding and that put enough pressure on us. We did not need to add fuel to the fire! This year, Mark and I got it right. He surprised me by sending me 32 long stemmed white, pink, & red Tulips. He remembered my favorite flower! Then he took me to one of my absolute favorite restaurants (The Melting Pot) the night before V-Day (less presure!). We had a fabulous time! I almost thought that the night was going to be ruined because of Mark's school. He was handed a take home test Thursday at 3pm. When he got home, he ate a quick meal (his last before we went out) and got started on his test about 4pm. He worked on that test until 5:30am , went to bed, and got back up at 8:30am to continue the test. I know because I am a light sleeper and it always wakes me when he gets up and down. When I got up at 9:30am, I immediately made him some coffee and kept it coming until he had to leave to turn in his test at school at 3:30pm. He worked on his test the entire time. Bless his heart! He did not even eat since he started the test! He was so stressed and sleep deprived that I thought he would not be up to dressing up and going out, but he surprised me! He was in a good mood and ready to shower and go eat even though he just drove in Atlanta rush hour to turn in his test. He even opened the car door for me and was willing to have his picture taken to remember the occasion. He looked good, too! I rarely get to see him in anything other than cargo pants and a t-shirt, so the button down and tie was a welcomed change! To be fair, he hardly gets to see me in anything other than scrubs so I know he was pleased to see me all spiffed up as well!