It isn’t Valentine’s Day yet as I write this, but I’ve schedule it to post on Valentine’s Day. I honestly forgot about the upcoming date until I realized my son had a party this week at school and had to get him some supplies and his cards and candy to share.
One year my husband surprised me with a dozen roses. Being a connoisseur of all things beautiful, I noticed something was wrong with these roses. The stems were short and the buds were small. They were grouped in a tight zip tie that probably created this stunted problem. I jokingly ask, “What, did you get these at Wal Mart?” (Never said I took his feelings into play.) He stopped and asked me why? I showed him just how dissatisfied I was with the flowers and that he needed to go back to the florist and take the flowers back and ask for a refund. He finally came clean and said they were from Wal Mart. The clincher… he made the mistake of telling me how much it cost him–.99 for the WHOLE dozen!!!
Expectations. Yeah mine were probably high, but I mean come on, .99 cents for a whole dozen of roses? I guess he got what he paid for!
Luckily, I’m not one of those women that is all about this holiday. I appreciate this holiday as a remembrance of those I love and cherish, those I pour myself into and give of myself daily. My husband and I’ve been pretty lazy when it comes to this holiday. Sometimes I get flowers. Sometimes I get candy. I usually always get a card. We don’t even go out to eat on Valentine’s Day because every place is so busy, and I’m not a very patient person when I’m hungry–maybe that is why my children can’t wait when they are hungry… for now I’ll just excuse it as age, haha!
Regardless, I am not sure I understand the hype of this holiday. When I was younger, I thought I was missing out on something because I didn’t really care. Quickly as I got older, I felt pressured to care. Once I allowed that pressure to set in, I started to set unrealistic expectations. Those didn’t just stop randomly. Those expectations stopped purposefully.
I am so thankful to have a husband that loves me and would do nearly anything for me–and let’s face it, the poor guy has done A LOT for me that I wouldn’t do for anyone else! haha!! That’s what I appreciate. All throughout the year I appreciate random acts of kindness. Not gifts. Random acts of “I Love You and You Alone.” You’re so special STILL that I enjoy coming home to you. Not a huge bouquet of flowers that will die in a week or less and wasted a ton of money on. A toilet cleaned weekly (because I cannot stand cleaning the toilet, insert gag here.) A steady pay check coming in. The ability to be a stay at home mom.
I would rather feel loved and appreciated more than just once a year, wouldn’t you?
So I’ve changed my expectations. My expectations are higher than Valentine’s Day. I expect to feel appreciated and loved throughout the year and not just one specific day. I expect to also bestow my appreciation and love upon my husband and children as often as I can. It’s that thing called dying to oneself…
What are your Valentine’s Day expectations? Where do you stand? Do you and your husband/significant other go all out for this? What are your thoughts?
