Valentine's Day

I am a hopeless romantic.  I believe that love should be like it is in the movies, bells ringing and dancing in the street.  Unfortunately, life is almost never like it is in the movies especially when it comes to love. However, that does not keep a guy from trying.

In my younger days my relationships did not last more than a year or so... sometimes a season at best. In those early days I had a specific Valentine's Day routine that had been perfected over the years since it could be repeated for different women. Then I got married.

The days of repeating the same romantic routine over and over came to an end. Valentine's Day and anniversaries became a study in creativity, trying to top myself each coming year.  Since I have a talent for drawing and writing, creative cards became my new modus operandi.  I could write a poem and draw a  picture and have a really great Valentine's Card. But...  now when I am looking at Valentine's Day number forty-something with the same woman, my creativity has been worked hard over the span of decades. 

My wife does not like candy and flowers are not an option for me.  Early in our marriage I surprised her with flowers at the dance studio where she was teaching and she called me by a former boyfriend's name.  I blamed the flowers which immediately went on the contraband list.  

So what to do today?  I have my drawing and it is ready to put on a card, I am hoping that I can come up with one more poem without repeating what I have done in the past.  

My Father who was not such a romantic got a pass every year from my mother.  She would tell him that she knew he loved her, he showed her every day, so why would this day be any different. She never expected that she would get flowers or a card. That sentiment did not survive to the next generation.  Although I do try to be a good husband every day, and Sandi knows that I love her, she still wants to have a symbolic gesture on the appropriate days. I get it, and do my best but this year it feels like a rerun.

So here is a shout out to all you guys and gals who are in a similar situation of what to do for the one you love. If, for you, it is just a matter of ordering a bunch of flowers or a Vermont Teddy Bear, you are truly blessed.  If you have gone through all your A material and like me are working from the C stack of ideas then today is full of stress.  You have run out of time.  If you do not have reservations at the most romantic restaurant by now, it is probably too late and trust me it is not about the food.  The same old restaurants that you go to during the rest of the year are not going to put points on your romantic score card.

As for me I will be trying to write that poem for the rest of the day.  What word rhymes with sexy that I have not used already?

As you were,

Jay