My Valentine

by Laura Jane on February 1, 2012

Valentine’s Day is almost here.  As much as I would like to love this day, I just don’t.  Don’t get me wrong, I do like surprising my daughter (and now my son too) with a little trinket, heart-shaped pancakes, and maybe a special outing for ice cream, but when it comes to my husband, February 14th just stress me out.

Just who was this St. Valentine that we can thank for candy and hearts every February?

I came across two legends.  The first was that St. Valentine was a priest in third century Rome.  At that time, it was believed that men were better soldiers when single, so marriage was outlawed for young men in hopes of a stronger military.  St. Valentine began marrying couples secretly and was put to death when found out.

The second legend has it that St. Valentine was a prisoner who fell in love with his jailer’s daughter.  Before he was put to death, he sent her a letter which he signed ‘Your Valentine’.  Thus began the tradition of valentines.

What a romantic!  As for me, each year I struggle with what to do for my valentine.  Every year we say we don’t need to celebrate Valentine’s Day, but then there is always the chance that he could surprise me and do something amazing and then I would look like a chump if I followed our ‘let’s not do anything’ idea.

So what’s a wife to do?  I decided to sit down and think about what I would really love to receive on Valentine’s Day (or any other day) that would make me feel special.  I am sure any of these ideas would show my husband how much he is appreciated too.

  • Put the kids to bed without me even asking
  • Write me a letter about the first time we met
  • Do one of my most despised chores for me
  • Hold my hand
  • Go to bed at the same time as me
  • Tell me I’m a good parent, even when the day has not been so good
  • Dance with me

I know a lot of those things seem like things married couples should do on a daily basis.  Time always seems to be in short supply though, and I know in our house, the love we share is not always what we show.

This Valentine’s Day, I will do the usual cliche and get my husband some chocolate and a card.  BUT, I am going to remember to hold his hand the next time we take my daughter to her swimming lessons, and I am going to tell him he’s a great father, even when I come home to find that the house is a disaster.

I am sure St. Valentine was not a romantic one day a year.  I am going to try to carry his spirit a little every day this year.

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Have Baby, Will Travel

by Laura Jane on January 28, 2012

Actual picture we took while STOPPED on the I-95 for over an hour

We have had a lot of customers in during the past week who are excitedly getting ready for vacations in the sun. I guess I shouldn’t be too jealous though.  I was one of those parents last winter….well, almost.

Most people fly to their destinations.  My family, on the other hand, packed a young infant (with an amazing amount of things for someone so small), a five year old (who didn’t want to leave anything behind), and two adults (I’d like to say I at least packed minimally), into our Yaris sedan (the small, economical, but oh-so-reliable Toyota on the market these days) and headed to Florida.

I learned four things during our four-day drive down (and four-day drive back):

  1. Truck drivers may see a lot of things on the road, but I don’t think they often see a mom using a double breast-pump on the I-95.  As an exclusive pumper at the time, I had to (and would) pump anywhere.  By the way, Disney World has outlets in their nursing rooms.  Which I discovered AFTER paying a small ransom for batteries there when my pump died.
  2. Babies are born with the ability to sense when you have PASSED a rest stop on major highways.  We would always check on our little guy when approaching rest stops.  Usually he was asleep, or he’d be happily staring at something shiny.  99.9% of the time, he would begin screaming as soon as we passed our potential pit stop!  Luckily (hah!), rest stops were usually only about 30 minutes apart.
  3. Elderly couples travelling alone in a mini-van seem to think a family packing a compact car is extremely amusing.  One morning, we had a couple (with their two tiny suitcases) watch us from their van as we wrangled a playpen, stroller, four suitcases, two kids, travel tray with DVD player, and ourselves into the Yaris.
  4. No matter how difficult getting there may be, it can also be a lot of fun if you have a sense of adventure and humour.  We ended up seeing the Baltimore Orioles stadium (took a wrong turn) on the way down.  One hotel room we stayed in had a telephone in the bathroom.  On the way home, we saw the White House…during rush….and heavy construction….after I missed the by-pass near Philly.  (okay, I can’t really say that detour was worth it…)
With a lot of planning and even more flexibility, travelling with a young family is possible!  We talked to a lot of wonderful people, found fabulous local food, gained an appreciation for travel and geography, and spent a lot of quality time together.
For our next trip we may try the flying option.
I’ll let you know how that goes!
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