Love The One You're With

Many people believe that Valentine's Day is one of those "Hallmark" holidays that are completely over-rated and only prey on consumers by forcing them to buy up all the chocolates and flowers made available by the overly-aware retailers. I , however believe that if you are one of the people who roll their eyes at the sight of a box of conversation hearts and cheesy red and pink cards, YOU are either a. bitter because you are single on this day or b. have never truly had a good representation of the day. Now before you get defensive, please understand...I was once one of these people as well. Even though I rarely spent a Valentine's day without a boyfriend, or love interest of some sort, I absolutely loathed the holiday. It almost seemed to historically and inevitably go completely wrong. I felt like it was tacky and stupid and just totally unnecessary. I felt this way until I met the man who I was lucky enough to marry. My husband and I don't go all out for birthdays or for Christmas, and we hardly recognize most of the other holidays that are lumped into this "Hallmark" group like St. Patrick's day, but Valentine's day for us is very important. This evening, Scott and I collaborated on a great low-key idea for our last romantic Valentine's day in which a recruiting a babysitter will not be required - a baby sitter who is one of the bitter Valentine's day people so she won't feel like she's missing out by spending it with my kid. Anyway, I'm so excited to spend the evening with my husband and just enjoy being together without a television or any other distractions.

The first ever Valentine's day that I spent with Scott was absolutely beautiful. I won't go into the details, but he really blew me away with all of his thoughtfulness and acts of romance. I can honestly admit that that evening was the one when I realized just how lucky I was to have found him. Ever since then, Scott has never let me down, never ceased to amaze me, and always succeeded in totally sweeping me off of my feet. One of the many things that I love about Scott is how pure he is in his attempts to put a smile on my face. It never requires a lot of money, or even time...but always plenty of thought.

I don't usually gush about my husband - really I don't - but I often wonder why not? He totally deserves it. We've definitely been through hell and back already in our relationship together. In our first year, there were certainly days and weeks that would pass when I wasn't really sure how we were going to make it. Nonetheless, we made it through that first tough year of marriage, and I couldn't be more grateful for God's hand undoubtedly being on us during that time. I shudder to think of what I would be missing out on if we hadn't had the stamina to make it through. My mom taught me something that really put deep imprint on my heart. She learned it from a couple who had been married for something like 35 years. She asked them "How do you do it? What's the secret to a successful marriage?" The husband replied "You just do. You just keep going." ...EXACTLY. That is the secret. Nothing more. Just keep going.

Throughout the trials and tribulations of this pregnancy, Scott has proved to me that he is truly a man among men. I worried quite a bit during those first few days in the hospital, that although he appeared to be acting very supportive and helpful, that this was not what he signed on for, and thus would not keep up the "charade" for long. Well...it was no charade. Scott has stepped up in a way that I don't know most men could. He has supported us 100% - not only financially, but in every aspect of running a household. This man had never done a load of laundry in his LIFE when I first met him, (not joking). Now he cooks for us, cleans, does our laundry, completes home repairs without being asked, takes out the trash, feeds the dog, and has joyfully completed the painting of our son's nursery. I could go on all day, but you know what...he's just a really great guy. I love him with all of my heart and I am truly blessed to be the lucky girl that gets to spend forever with him.