Happy Valentine's Day! You'd think that as romance writers all my pals and I would be planning romantic outings with our significant others. Well, for me, Valentine's Day has included a dozen red roses, a box of candy, and a card that included a monkey sitting on a toilet. The card had the required "I love you" and made me laugh, so that's good. I also had breakfast made for me as I do most Saturday mornings. But going out? Not tonight. We're not into crowds and waiting an hour to get into a restaurant.My friend Robin Kaye is blogging today on our Casablanca Authors Blog about how she's not really much into Valentine's Day because her domestic god Stephen, who I jokingly refer to as my second husband, does lovely things for her every day. She'd rather have the cup of coffee he brings her in bed every morning than a three-carat diamond for Valentine's Day (not that she'd say no to the diamond, of course). The general consensus among my romance writing pals is that it's not about hearts and flowers, it's about having go-to guys who make our daily lives a little easier.
That definitely includes my husband, Dan, who takes a lot of grief from me, but gets it done not just for me but for my single mom cousin and many of my friends who bring their pants over to be hemmed by him. Yes, you read that right. I gave him a Singer for Christmas a few years ago, which was easily the best gift I've ever given anyone. He views it as a power tool, right up there with his drill or saw. Of course he does require a full inseam measurement for all alterations because, as he says, there has to be something in it for him. Since my friends need him to sew for them, I'd better keep him around!
Another note on Valentine's Day... This was my first one as a mom that didn't require me to buy little kid Valentine's for my children's classmates. With a daughter in 8th grade--she makes beautiful cards for her friends--and a son in fourth grade--his response to my query about Valentine's was "Get real, Mom"--my life as a Valentine-buying mom has come to an end. Boo hoo!
