Your best Valentines Day?

I've been trying to think of mine.  There have been several great ones throughout the years.  We are fortunate that our good friends, Tim and Cindy, celebrate their anniversary on Valentines and often invite us along on their excursions. One year we took a short cruise down to Mexico with them.  One year we stayed at a Bed and Breakfast inn up at Sisters, Oregon. 

I remember one Valentines during the early years of our marriage, shortly after moving to Oregon. My younger brother, Wayne, babysat our little Jackie so we could go out to dinner at McCormick and Schmicks.  That seemed like such an extravagance at the time.  One year,  my parents watched our little Jackie and Robert so we could go away together for a ski weekend.

I remember one year while we had three very young children and lived in Salem, we celebrated all together with a picnic on our family room floor.

I wonder if Brian and Miranda remember the year we went out for Italian food in West Salem and had our car towed.  Ah, such special times...

Many years blend together.  It has gotten to the point that going out for dinner is no longer too much of a thrill, so it becomes more difficult to set the day apart by simply doing that.  And what does one do for the man who doesn't care about 'stuff" and if he wants anything he will go get it himself?

Brian has a little bit of a stubborn streak in him too.  He doesn't like anything that is commonplace or expected or perfunctory as Valentines Day to dictate when or how he shows his love or treats his wife.  He would much rather spoil me all the other 364 days of the year than to do so simply because the world tells him that he should.  I actually find that rather endearing as I too have a little non-conformist streak in me.

I do remember our first Valentines Day together.  Brian and I were both attending Utah State University, and had only been dating for a few short weeks.  Our college ward was sponsoring a Valentines dance.  I spent extra care getting ready because I wanted him to think I was beautiful.  We made an appearance at the activity, danced one dance, then and as I look back now I can see he was being true to form, he asked if I wanted to leave and go see a movie.  What?  I kind of wanted to stay and dance but I could see that he didn't.  We went to the movie, "Tootsie" with Dustin Hoffman, a very fun movie.  For me though, the memorable part was in the sound track.  It began to play "Something's telling me it might be you, yes, its telling me it must be you all of my life".  The amazing song by Stephen Bishop seemed to touch my heart with words speaking just to me.  "I've been saving love songs and lullabyes"...

Well, that was probably sharing too much of myself.  Needless to say our courtship progressed and in June of 1983 we were married in the Idaho Falls Temple.  And the rest, they say, is history.

How are you celebrating Valentines Day?  Brian and I will be going to the coast this year to spend a couple of nights before returning Sunday morning for church.  Sounds nice...