Thursday, February 15, 2007

Our Valentine's Day

This has never been much of a special day for us. I always try to make it kind of special, but, well, as they say, it takes two to tango... I was watching the news last night as Peter was studying on campus, and they were showing long lines of guys in floral shops and candy stores, and they asked someone about if he felt pressured on Valentine's Day and showed him saying, "I think all guys are in the same boat when it comes to feeling pressured." HAHAHA! Yeah, anyway, that's all I'll say about that.

So, in the morning, I made Peter an ice cream cake (2 layers of chocolate cake with chocolate chip ice cream in the middle, and topped with a chocolate whipped cream frosting). This was really yummy! He actually came home for lunch unexpectedly because he finished an assignment early, while Little Chub and I were playing with her friend Oliver, and the smell of the cake was permeating the house so much that he went searching the kitchen for the source, and of course, found the incomplete ice cream cake. So as soon as I got home, I made up the frosting (~1/3 cup powdered sugar, ~1/4 cup cocoa, heavy whipping cream, beat it all until it's VERY stiff, then add vanilla and voila! Yummy yummy yummy!) and we ate some cake then instead of having it for dessert after dinner. Earlier in the day, I ordered calzones and garlic cheese bread to be delivered at the time Peter was supposed to arrive home. Unfortunately, he asked questions, so I answered them, and this was not a surprise either, AND he ended up arriving home a couple minutes before the calzones were delivered anyway. So we ate our calzones, and he rushed off back to school, to arrive home around 1:30am. Oh yeah, Little Chub and I made a heart shaped construction paper card for Daddy, that she colored on a little bit, which is what I think he liked the most.

Days like yesterday only serve to show me how selfish and greedy I am. It's really kind of depressing if I think about it too much.

And why is it that I haven't had anything positive to say in the last couple weeks? I think I need an attitude adjustment...

1 comment:

Real said...

I don't think you are being selfish or greedy. I think it's actually a pretty normal part of the early years of marriage. You want him to show you appreciation and love in a certain way. Flowers, chocolate, a romantic card, some kind of surprise to show he was thinking of you. Those things are "love-speak" to you. His love language is different and he shows he loves you in other ways, which you probably already appreciate, but it doesn't take away the pang of missing the way you'd prefer it.

I'm one of those wives that feels like, "if I have to TELL you exactly what I want, then I don't want it." Basically, I want YOU to be thoughtful and come up with some way to pleasantly surprise me all on your own. But 14 years later, that rarely happens. If I want something from him, he likes to be told what it is. Like, "I'd like to receive flowers for Valentine's Day or our anniversary with a nice card attached." Not, "Don't you think flowers are a nice traditional gift for Valentine's Day?"

I have a friend who recently told me a great system she and her husband have for situations like this. She keeps a running list of things that she wants on amazon.com. You know, she keeps a wish list. And whenever he asks what she would like for Christmas (or when he wants to get her something for a surprise, but isn't sure what) he just goes to her wish list and picks something. That way it's a surprise for her, it's easy for him to figure out and he knows she'll love it!