Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day isn't usually an important holiday to me. Maybe I'm just a little bitter from all those Valentine's Days that I didn't have a special someone to spend it with. Also, the commercialization and social pressure that makes people feel obligated to buy silly cards or overpriced flowers for someone really annoys me. In the many years I've been with Dan, on more than a couple occasions, Valentine's Day has inadvertently meant an overpriced meal at a small table stuffed in front of the restaurant's kitchen door with a waiter who can't make us eat fast enough to get that next customer in to pay a crazy amount for food, too. It left us wondering why we paid so much just to sit on plastic patio furniture.

February 14th, however, is Dan's birthday, and that's definitely an important holiday, as I enjoy another excuse to find something fun that he really wants or needs, but hasn't had the time to research and get for himself. I like to spoil him a little.

I do like it that, for Valentine's Day, Dan makes a point to make dinner plans with me or get me a little small bunch of flowers (sometimes I do get the big bunch of flowers, too!) or something. I don't require much, and I always value the time we spend together more than anything.

The part of Valentine's Day that I really look forward to is a box of chocolates from my dad. Not just any box of chocolates, but a one pound box of See's mint truffles. Every year, he gets three of these special boxes, one for me, and one for each of my sisters. Every year, the See's Candy salespeople ask him if he really wants three boxes of just the one kind of chocolates, and suggest that maybe he might want a mixed variety, and every year, he tells them no. Every year, he makes sure we get our boxes of our favorite candy, on time, no matter where we are, even if we're on an out-of-state trip or in an international country! My dad is really the best Valentine!


But I'm sorry to say, Dad, that this year, Dan has trumped that special box of candy.

It all started with the goal to have a nice quiet weekend together. No fancy restaurants with overpriced meals. No silly cards or big bunches of flowers. Dan had the idea to have a little getaway weekend in Big Bear. Dan's brother has a cabin up there that we use sometimes. We brought the dogs with us, and they enjoyed running around in the snow, of which there was a lot, for Southern California standards. It was really nice to get away from the house and work, especially because with a home business like ours, work is at home. I also appreciated the opportunity to have a little getaway that wasn't too far away, because we're fast approaching the time when we should be staying close to home, in anticipation of the arrival of the baby.

We were both excited about gift giving. Usually I get Dan two things, one for his birthday and one for Valentine's Day. But this year, I only focused on the birthday gift. I was excited about his gift, because I was able to keep it a surprise (which is always hard for me), and I knew it would be something he wanted and liked. For Christmas, Dan received a new digital SLR camera, but because we're amateur photographers, we didn't really know how to use the camera and all its gizmo settings. Dan's been really excited about learning more about photography and the proper use of an SLR camera. However, the more he read about apertures and ISOs and exposure lengths, the more confusing it all became. Dan really wanted some more advanced camera lenses than we had, and some books that explained all the ins and outs of digital SLR photography. I did a bunch of research on the Internet for a couple of good lenses for the camera and a couple of good intro to digital photography books. I knew it would be just the right combination of things to get him started on his new hobby.

Dan surprised me, and had a gift for me for Valentine's Day. We have been so busy at work, that I was sure that the relaxed getaway weekend together was our Valentine's present to each other. Of course, I really appreciated the extra effort I knew Dan had to take out of his recent busy schedule in order to get me something special. Little did I know how much extra effort he really put in to finding me the perfect gift and making it a surprise for me.

Upon presenting me with the gift box, Dan triumphantly announced that he knew I would like the present and it was definitely something I had thought about and wanted. It was fun to see the excitement in his face, and I was surprised at how confident he was in his gift. As I opened the box, I truly had no clue what was inside. The first thing I saw was a beautiful wooden basket wrapped in cellophane. I was confused. A gift basket? Dan's not normally the "gift basket" type. What could be inside? Dan laughed at my confusion at seeing the gift basket. As I unwrapped the cellophane, Dan admitted that he didn't really know what exactly was in the basket. I was even more confused. Dan was so certain that I would love the gift, yet here he was, admitting that he didn't know what was in the basket? Was it a spa package or something? I started taking items out of the basket, poking around, trying to figure out what Dan had been so excited and confident about. Dan put his hand in the basket, pulled out an envelope, and handed it to me, saying, "This is the gift I got for you." I opened the envelope, and Dan has arranged for a photo sitting package for Professional Belly Pictures and Professional Newborn Pictures! Dan had researched professional maternity photographers, taken the time to sneak out of the house and purchase the photography package and hide the gift basket from me. Of course I loved it! How could I not?

I am so excited about Dan's surprise for me, his enthusiasm about Fatherhood and his willingness to get it documented in photos. It's incredibly sweet how much effort he put into this gift, which is meaningful well beyond just the holiday. I love my husband very much!