I am not a big Valentine’s Day person.  I consider myself lucky in that I feel the love from my husband every day.

No, he doesn’t always buy me little gifts. On the other hand, I don’t want them.  If there is something I really want or need, I can get it. I want the little things.

I want him to reach over when we are in bed and rub the back of my neck.

I want him to tell the kids to move, so he can sit next to me on the couch.

I want him to pull me into his lap and lay a big, fat kiss on me.

I want him to open my door for me on date night.

I want him to hold the door for me when we are leaving a restaurant.

I want him to hold my hand when we walk around the mall.

And, I consider myself lucky that Roy does all those things and more.  When I’m exhausted, Roy asks if I want something to eat.  He brushes the kids teeth, and quizzes Hayden on his homework. 

If the kids do something to upset me, he backs me up.  He KNOWS me.  He slows down during a charity run, so he can run with me, and right before we hit the home stretch, when I was about ready to drop, he slipped his hand in mine and gave me that look.

You know the one, ladies. The one that says, “I know you can do this, but whatever happens I have your back.”

So, girls, maybe your guy doesn’t get the gifts right.  He buys you a shirt, and it’s the wrong color (or heaven forbid the wrong size!).  He gets you flowers, but NOT your favorites.  He buys you a card, and only signs his name.

BUT, if he gets things right every other day, does it really matter if he messes up Valentine’s Day?

Whatever you think of Valentine’s Day - it’s right around the corner.  I enjoy helping the boys (though only Hayden still does this) make all their little cards for their classmates.  I like doing that. Hayden will come home and share his take with me - though I limit myself to one piece of candy these days.  That’s fun.

I have no real interest in going to a restaurant and paying 25% more for the same meal I could eat the day before, but because it’s ‘a special menu,’ we pay more.

I am not a huge flower person, especially because they jack up the price on V-day.  Though I will say the prettiest flowers Roy ever bought me, he gave to me one year on V-day.  They were marbled roses - peach with some red in them… beautiful!  And he swears he didn’t overpay.

What I do love are the notes Roy writes me.  Yes, he often buys me a Hallmark, or he used to. The past few years he has made me a card on his computer, and then he always writes something short, sweet and simple, but it always takes my breath away.

We’ve been together almost 14 years.  In those 14 years we’ve had our share of fights. A few times we’ve even thought this might be it, we can’t do it anymore, but those times are few.  For the most part, these have been the best years of my life.  We have grown as a couple; we have raised the boys (and continue to do so) and watched them grow.  Shared their triumphs, and taken care of them when they were sick - together.

As I have said before, we don’t have all the answers.  But what I find amusing is almost every magazine does something about couples this month - interviewing them, sharing their stories, etc.  And to be honest, I don’t want to hear from a couple that’s been married for 9 months!  They’re still in the honeymoon phase!  The first nine months of our marriage were over and done with in the blink of an eye.

I want to hear from couples that have been married for 20, 30, or even 40 years.  Couples that have gotten through a serious illness, that have seen all their children grown up and move on to have families of their own.  And while it’s cute to hear the story of a couple who’s biggest fight was over the color of their bathroom paint, I want something more. 

Real Simple did a profile of a couple that have been together for over 60 years!  60 years!  He still has the convertible that he picked her up in for their first date.  How sweet is that…

Magazines often do celebrity profiles - it’s wonderful that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have been together for 6 years, but what about Elizabeth Banks?  She has been with her husband almost 20 years and still talks about how much she loves and respects him.  Danny Devito and Rhea Perlman - maybe not as pretty as the Pitt/Jolie clan, but together over 30 years!  Let’s hear about them…

I’m not saying newlyweds, have nothing to share, but I do think the couples that have been together longer have MORE to share, and I wonder why they aren’t he focus of those articles? 

eddieni asked: My preference is milk chocolate and generally i just get Cabbury (sp?) but I love more expensive brands. I try not to eat it very often because chocolate gives me a huge headache. No i have not tried that website but I am totally going to now. It looks amazing!! I am amusing you like it?

Chocomize is great!  I actually custom made a bar for my husband - Dark Chocolate with a few mix ins, but then I had them put a message sheet on it (totally edible too!).  I think you can actually custom make the messages as well.  I just don’t eat too much chocolate, because I love it and will eat too much! But I think Chocomize is fun for special occasions. And Roy loves Dark Chocolate. (He’s nodding his head in the background.)

-Yes, I admit it, I watch Dancing with the Stars. So my vent… why did Chris Jericho have to leave?  Not only is his partner my favorite pro, but Kendra gets to stick around cause she has bigger boobs?  NOT COOL!

-Why must I wait until September for new seasons of Dexter and Sons of Anarchy?  How about two shorter seasons, the way USA Network does things?  Seriously, this is messing with my ‘viewing pleasure.’

-How come when it’s that time of the month (ladies, you know what I mean; ok, guys, you probably do too) and I am CRAVING chocolate, I never have any in the house?  But every other week, I have it coming out of my ears?

-Cashiers: I used to work retail. I know it is often a thankless job, but when I come to your store and spend 300 dollars, how about a hello?  Or a thank you for shopping with us?  At least TELL me my total rather than just show me on the monitor?  Treat me with some respect, and I will do the same to you.

-Why is it taking so long for summer to get here?  Ok, nothing anyone can really do about that one…

-This is a rotten year for my allergies! 

OK, I feel much better now that I have gotten all of that out of my system.