My Favorite Valentine

I'm kind of not great at the Valentine's Day thing. I know, sacrilege for a romance author to be not great at the biggest love celebration of the entire year. But there you go. I like the idea of setting aside a day for loved ones. I like picking up a little something - a video game or some great chocolates or (in the case of RadioMan) a LEGO set - to say 'I love you'.

RadioMan and I usually do the dinner and a movie thing and some kind of flower bouquet usually comes along with that. I love cut flowers. And potted plants.

I think one of my favorite Valentine's Days, though, was a day we weren't together. It was the year we moved to Ohio, and RadioMan was working late. I decided to make chicken enchiladas and had a movie ready to go on the DVD player because I knew when he got home the last thing he'd want to do is go out to eat. And then it started to snow.

And it snowed. And it snowed. And it snowed.

About six o'clock he called to let me know the roads were bad and he was going to stay at work because of some cancellations (this happens a lot in Radio World) and to make sure all the relevant weather info was on the air. I put the enchiladas on hold in the fridge and told him I'd wait.

About seven he called back to let me know he was headed home. I put the enchiladas in the oven.

We lived about 10 minutes from the station, and by 7:30 (it was still snowing) I was getting really worried, but I didn't want to call because snow + ice + driving + phone calls is a lot to deal with. I turned the oven down to warm and waited some more.

At 7:45 he called to tell me he was back at the radio station. There had been a horrible semi-truck accident and the road to our house was completely shut down. The troopers working the accident told him to go back to work and not try to get home because they were getting ready to shut down all the roads.

I had enchiladas in the oven and a movie on tap and a husband 10 miles away, stuck at work and no way to get to him. But he was safe and warm. He never made it home that night. We talked on the phone a bunch - he complained about the lumpiness of the conference room couch, I told him funny stories about me trying to keep the drive cleared of snow but mostly falling on my @$$. He finally made it home about noon the day after Valentine's Day - and scarfed the enchiladas straight from the 'fridge because he was starving.

We celebrated Valentine's Day - officially - on February 16 that year. But I kind of think we also celebrated it on February 14th. Even though we were separated by a snow storm and ten or so miles, I still remember those phone conversations. I remember laughing a lot and saying a lot of 'I love you's'. I remember thinking, as I curled up on the couch with a cozy blanket, that I would see him when the weather was clear.

 Do you have an un-Valentine's Day story? 

Comments

  1. I LOVE this story. What a sweet memory.

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    1. me, too...it's truly one of my favorite Valentine's memories.

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  2. That's what love is all about, keeping the lights on and making lemonade :)

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    1. so true, Marty! Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours!

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  3. and that, my friend, is real (abiding) love... when you care more about the safety of your beloved than about being together on a prescribed day....

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  4. Yeah, that's a good married Valentine's Day. We rarely go out--but Valentine's Day means a nice meal with a great bottle of wine and a movie or even just cuddling by the fire and reading together. Great post, Kristi!

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    1. Thanks, Nan! Hope you and Hubby have a great V-Day!

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  5. Great story! And I'm with Radioman--Legos are the perfect gift anytime :)

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