My Valentine Saves the Day

End of my rope. Physically tired. Mentally exhausted. Just plain worn out.

All of the above sums up how I felt last week. If you'll recall, the stomach bug hit while Chris was out of town. I didn't get a lot of sleep. And we were cooped up in the house. By the time he returned, everyone was well but it was time to start a new week. My part time jobs were requiring a lot of my time. And Lily Baker decided this was the perfect week to try me in every way.

By the time Thursday rolled around, I was done. I remember thinking, "If I could just have two hours to myself!"

That evening Chris and I were in the bedroom and I was picking things up. Of the five drawers on his dresser, four weren't closed all the way. It's a habit of his, but with my sleep deprivation and general crankiness, it bugged me more than usual.

As I pushed them all in, I blurted out, "I need a vacation!"

He answered, "You have a massage scheduled for one o'clock tomorrow. You need to arrive at 12:45."

I looked at him in amazement. "I do???" I asked. He confirmed and I hugged him. Oh my word, happy days are here again.

I went and it was awesome. I ran into a dear friend and at the end of my massage I learned she left me an "anonymous" gift: quiet time in the tranquility room with a plate of chocolates and a glass of wine.

Are you kidding me???!

As I munched on my chocolate pretzel in this tranquility room, wrapped in my soft oversized robe, I realized why this was all so wonderful to me.

He got it.

Chris saw that I was drowning, and he threw me a rope.

He knew I was tired. He knew I just needed a few hours of alone time to recharge my batteries. Just a little peace and quiet without anyone wanting anything from me.

I didn't have to ask for it.

He just knew.

It made me love him even more.

Later that night he took me to dinner to a fabulous new restaurant in town. It was so wonderful to have uninterrupted time with him, to actually finish a conversation! After having our special night, we spent Saturday night at home with our girls. After dinner, the girls asked if we could have family game night and we said yes.

My favorite moment of the Valentine's Day weekend occured when Jerry Hayes called Chris' cell during our game. I heard Chris said, "I can't talk right now. I'm playing Princess Yahtzee and I'm Cinder-schmelly!" The girls laughed and I realized at that moment that I may truly be the luckiest person alive.

It would have made sense for Chris to have boys. A former athlete himself, he could have taught those boys so much. But little boys were not part of God's plan for us. Instead he blessed us with this world of little girls. Chris has thrown himself into his role: giving Ann Catherine ice skating tips when she gets home from her lessons, teaching AC and LB how to smack a baseball in our back yard, taking them to hockey games and teaching them all about the game he loves. But in the same breath, he can act like Princess Yahtzee is the most exciting game he's ever played and he can be "Prince Charming" to Lily Baker's Cinderella as he twirls her around the den.

They are so lucky to have him. And so am I.

That night I told the girls all about our date Friday night. They took it all in with eyes wide and smiles on their faces. I asked them if they knew why Daddy did those things for me.

AC: Because it's Valentine's Day.
CG: Not just that. It's because I love your mommy.
AC: You promised to always love her when you married her.
CG: That's right.
AC: Will you always love me?
CG: Always.
AC: Will you always love Lily Baker?
CG: Always.
AC: Will you always love Melissa?
CG: Always.

We are four lucky girls.