V-Day: The Aftermath

My sister called to tell me she was spending Valentine's Day at home with a glass of wine, curled up in her favorite chair with her dog. Of course, you know what happened next.

"So ... how was YOUR Valentine's Day?" she asked.

So I told her. MY Valentine's Day started at 3:34 a.m. when my two kids and their puppy decided it was time to GET UP! The three of us went upstairs to Christopher's room, where I alternately threatened and bribed them to sleep for JUST TWENTY MINUTES MORE!

Needless to say, none of us (except my DH, who was dozing downstairs) got any shuteye. At 6 a.m. we all gave up and went downstairs, where the kids helped themselves to copious quantities of Cap'n Crunch, and I let the dog out for her morning constitutional (on a leash).

At seven, my husband woke up and got ready to go back to work. Yes, on a Saturday. The rest of the day was a blur because of the combined effects of sleep deprivation and migraine headache. Chain-drank Diet Coke for the combined effects of caffeine and private bathroom time. I believe there was a twenty-minute period of Grand Silence when I stapled them to their beds, handed them a book, and threatened them with mayhem if they moved. I could be wrong.

At 5 p.m., Valentine's Eve, my DH called to give me 'the choice': Did I prefer that he stay at work until his project was done, or come home so he could spend Valentine's evening with me ... and return to work the next day (Sunday).

I don't remember what I said next, but I DO recall it was pitched so high that the dog ran under the table. Thirty minutes later, Craig walked through the door with steaks in one hand, a bottle of champagne in the other, a box of chocolates under one arm, and a dozen white roses (my favorite) under the other.

Now ... that wasn't so hard, was it?

P.S. He didn't go back to work the next day. Happy Valentine's Day to Me!!!