Happy Valentines, fellow.....uhm, what are we called again?

Anyhow, you know who you are and even if you are not, Happy Valentines Day!!

That is pretty much the gist of it in our household as we adhere to a VERY wise practice that my mentor, the General (and his wife), told us. Basically, the Hallmark(tm) holidays and traditions are nice and colourful and expensive. They can also be disingenuous, static and flaccid. So, instead of the usual following the rest of the lemmings (i.e. Valentine's, Easter, etc.), we cut it down to ones we actually enjoy (for us those are Wedding Anniversary, Christmas and Birthdays) plus random, plentiful acts of kindness and love throughout the year.

What this does is almost eliminate those instances of anger and hate when, typically, the man forgets the special date during the year. Instead, the spouse will not know when something special is being done or picked up for them and will be pleasantly surprised. Recently, we went out for a friend's birthday party and I got Pam to hand money over to Skibum for the Dirty Dancing tickets he has been holding for me. That was her final Christmas gift, plus dinner that evening. She was definitely surprised because I lied and told her she had nothing else coming.

She does the same for me and it could be a special meal, or dinner and a movie or Reese's Pieces from when she hits the Bulk Barn. I L-O-V-E RPs so I know she was definitely thinking of me when she gets them. Without the expectation, we appreciate each other's thoughtfulness that much more and it means that we know without a doubt, when we are apart, there really is no distance.

From Pam and I, much love to you all. Enjoy your day and your evening.

Ciao.

V