Valentine’s Day is way down there on my list of holidays. It’s overpriced, overrated and quite frankly designed to get you in trouble with the missus if you don’t put enough thought and planning into your celebration of romance. Thankfully my wife thinks about as much of this holiday as I do so we are usually on the same page. No need to go out and eat a $50 steak when there is a homegrown one in the freezer outside that tastes better anyway. I’m not really sure who thought that “I love you” was something that could be said with stale candy hearts with corny messages on them, chocolates in a heart shaped box that melt when you leave them on the dash with the defrost on, and an assortment of stuffed animals made in some far off land. Pepto Bismol Pink and candy apple red somehow became the unofficial colors of this holiday, we’re reminded of that from about the middle of December when they start peddling all this crap in the stores before we’ve even had a chance to celebrate Christmas!
I’ve got hay fever like crazy. One of the things that sets me off the worst is flowers. Usually, my eyes start swelling shut and I go into sneezing fits that are pretty violent. My poor bride loves flowers. She has learned, however, that unless it is our anniversary, she’s probably not getting them to keep in the house. One year it was so cold during February the flower shop covered the bouquet I got for her in a plastic bag to keep the cold from instantly killing the flowers as I walked to my pickup. That was my favorite flower arrangement ever! No sneezing and no watery eyes until the bag came off them!
I think there are better ways to celebrate the holiday of love than by buying all the cheap gimmicks that will get thrown away in a month. As someone who has been married for a decade, I can attest that there are far more meaningful gifts to tell your spouse you love them. If you want to impress your bride with something meaningful, clean the master bathroom without being asked too. Stack up the dishes in the kitchen and take the time to wash them. Put the kids to bed one night so your wife can finish reading her favorite book or watching her favorite show. If you really want to make points, fold the laundry and put it away instead of pulling clean clothes out of the laundry basket or dryer every morning.
Some of the ways that you will surely lose points with your bride on Valentine’s Day are snuggling up in a warm bed after you went out to check heifers in the cold at 2 in the morning. Walk through the house without pulling your muddy boots off. That’s a sure-fire way to find the second use for a rolling pin. When your bride has been baking cookies all day for a church potluck all morning, it’s best not to help yourself to them before you have asked.
However you choose to celebrate the holiday of love and cheap greeting cards is up to you. Be sure to tell your significant other that you love them and how much they mean to you. That’s all for this time, I’m going to ice this lump on my head from a rolling pin while I mop the floor of muddy boot prints. Keep tabs on your side of the barbed wire and God Bless!