Today is Valentine’s Day. It’s also Tuesday.
Valentine’s Day on a Tuesday? Ain’t nobody got time for that!
Back in the day, before my husband and I were married, we did the typical dinner out and roses thing. It was sweet and romantic, but not exactly original.
After we got married, we still celebrated this way. We even continued when our boys were little because we lived in NY and my parents (who lived nearby) were kind enough to babysit so we could go out. [I guess they figured they’d been married long enough that they didn’t mind swapping dinner by candlelight for dinner with Elmo.]
Then we moved to PA. Our boys were still young, but my parents were far away. If Valentine’s Day fell on a weekend, we got a babysitter and went out. But if Valentine’s Day fell on a weekday, none of our high school sitters were available. So we started a new tradition: Valentine’s Day lunch dates. While the boys were in school, I’d meet my husband near his office for an extended lunch break. I loved it! It was the perfect solution and it felt special.
We did this for a few years until I joined a big gym that allowed members to bring a spouse or partner to class on Valentine’s Day. Now THIS was special! I love working out so getting S to join me for a spin class was everything to me. I reciprocated by taking him out for breakfast afterwards (my version of ‘gym and juice’ — get it?!). This became our newer new tradition for a few years (spin class the first two years, [solidcore] the third) until COVID happened and everything stopped.
With both of us working from home and spending nearly every minute together during quarantine and beyond, by the time Valentine’s Day rolled around, neither of us was feeling very romantic. Plus, the idea of eating out in a restaurant was still a bit daunting, so we kind of skipped it. I think we ordered in a heart-shaped pizza and called it a night.
Last year, we doubled-down on the ordering in and leveled up by watching a college basketball game together. After all, Virginia was playing and if you read last year’s post, you know I’ve been in a throuple with Virginia for as long as I’ve known S. [If you missed that post, you can read it here. It’s still one of my most talked about.]
This year, Valentine’s Day is on a Tuesday. We both have work meetings and client deadlines that conflict with a shared lunchtime. I work out in our basement gym now, so the spin class-and-breakfast option is out, too. And Virginia isn’t playing until Wednesday, so there’s no game to watch together.
So what’s our big plan? Meatloaf. Nothing says romance like meatloaf on a Tuesday night. But don’t worry, the romance isn’t dead. I plan to shape it like a heart.
Happy Valentines’ Day — however you plan to show your love.
-LJDT
