Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day! Here’s hoping your sweetie makes your day very special.

This morning my darling baby slept for 6 1/2 hours, which was my Valentines Day gift. Problem was, he awoke at three a.m., chirpy and ready to play. But I’ll take what I can get. God bless rice cereal.

When I think back to other Valentines Days, what comes to mind are high school and middle school days when secret admirers would send candy grams or roses. I received two secret candy grams in 7th grade, and a rose during my senior year of high school. I remember being absolutely floored that some boy had sent ME something. And then there was the gleeful speculation of who it could possibly be. Thankfully, I was a master at handwriting interpretation–CSI had nothing on me! By golly, I was going to find out who that boy was and hunt him down thank him. Sadly, both times, it was a boy I wasn’t at all interested in.

But now that I’m happily married to my own sweetie, my ideas of romance have changed. While I will always love flowers and chocolate , my husband has done some truly romantic things. He has surprised me when I’ve come home from out of town and the house was sparkling clean. Or when he stayed up all night with the baby and let me sleep. Or the times when he stayed up most of the night reading a draft of one of my books, just to help me with my revisions. He’s a good man, and I appreciate that.

Tonight since we’re in baby jail (I can’t trust a high-schooler with a three month old), we’re going to order in dinner. Maybe afterwards, we’ll hang out and watch tv, possibly with a glass of wine. When you’ve been married nine years, romance changes. And for me, it’s knowing that there’s somebody who will be there for me, no matter what. Someone who loves me when I’ve been existing on four hours of sleep per night, when I’m bedraggled and forgetting things, and who is a true helpmate with the kids. Now that’s romance.

I also received another happy surprise. This March, Her Irish Warrior will not only be out in Italy, but it’s also being released in Germany. This is exciting since I can read German. Can’t wait!

Since it’s Valentines Day, I’d like to give a reader a gift. Just post a comment telling me what your favorite Valentines gift would be, and I’ll send you an autographed book of your choice!