Valentine's Day #15

This year marked the 15th Valentine's Day Mate and I have spent together.  While a bit of a milestone, the day was quite uneventful.  I was recovering from the previous day's round of the stomach bug . . . Ava style.  That girl only got sick once, but she made it count- in the grocery store.  I stood, nearly paralyzed, as she threw up all over the cart full of groceries, the floor and our coats.  I'll spare you the gruesome clean-up details.  Meanwhile, Mate spent most of the day traveling home from a speaking engagement in Iowa.  After a flight delay and some last minute scrambling to get dinner on the table, we were all together again.
With the exception of last year, my gift is always Godiva chocolate.  Mate tried to switch things up this time.  When a different heart-shaped chocolate box showed up, I jokingly asked if I had been demoted.  We both knew his weekend in Iowa was an impediment to Valentine's Day gift giving and that was fine with me.  What I loved was when he said it wasn't cheap and I said, "you'll be able to tell the difference".  He took a bite and confirmed that it definitely wasn't Godiva chocolate.  Couple that with his admission that he'd have had no idea what to do during the grocery store disaster and I was all kinds of happy.  I don't need fancy gifts or romantic gestures. I appreciate being able to laugh over a box of sub-par chocolates and the acknowledgement that, sometimes, my job is tough.  Our 15th Valentine's Day was memorable in its own special way. The girls enjoying a scavenger hunt that ended in a few gifts was pretty great, too: