Saturday, February 14, 2009

Valentine's Day Surprises

Clouds lay thick around us these days, with great stress at work, long days, exhausted nights, and uncertainty swirling, ever-present.  Today started true to form, with snow and gray everywhere, and me knowing I had been too tired this week to make any Valentine's Day plans. Time quickly filled with errands and to dos, and ultimately found both of us running to separate stores at 5:00 P.M. just to get the week's grocery shopping done.  We came back to our jumble of  a house (kids toys scattered everywhere) ready for just another evening of fighting the kids to eat and go to bed. And then a surprise or two peeked in. 

Kath had purchased lobster tails at Smiths. I had picked up flowers at Costco. Someone had bought Valentines cookies from Cutlers for all of us.  She cooked the lobster for us while I cooked Mac & Cheese for the eight and under crowd.  The sunset was spectacular.  We found a candle and lit it, which magically captivated the kids.   I ate lobster and thought of Chinois on Main in our beloved Santa Monica.  Kath thought of Bar Harbor Maine, where we had eaten lobster fresh from the sea one morning in a shack right off the dock. 

Then my sweet Alden, surrounded by his cookie, the candle, and a new Darth Vader Force Action Light Saber, said, "Wow, isn't our family great! We like candles and cookies and Star Wars and Light Sabers! It is so fun!"  Kathleen and I looked at each other, and shared a really great kiss.  And so an unexpected and wonderful light parted the clouds this Valentine's night.


3 comments:

mb said...

wow- so nice. i thought you were going to say alden knocked over the candle and started a fire. glad your v-day was great. ours was, too.

Natalie N said...

Beautifully written, as always. I loved Malinda's comment above. I busted out with laughter. Glad to hear you had a wonderful day! You & Kathleen deserve it.

Annie said...

Beautiful post. Things came together so well considering the crazy stress and rollercoaster ride you've been on since Christmas. Love you guys!