Jillian's Real Life, Rough Draft

Valentine’s Day Sucks

Baddy and I sat down to our Valentine’s Eve dinner and as we sat there with the candles flickering in red seeded glass hurricane lamps, the boys raced around us in circles personifying Tucker Hibbert going for the SnoCross Gold in the X-Games.

As we looked deeply into each other’s exhausted eyes I said, You know, I kinda didn’t do very much for you this year. In fact, you seem to have already found your present, which was a big bag of all green M&Ms that said love all over the bag.

So accustomed to his party girl making a big hullabaloo over every holiday, he looked at me incredulously, Really? he said. Thats it? No card, no nothing?

Me: “Well, I was going to make you these incredible looking little fudge cakes with pieces of after 8 dinner mints in them and then I went to the market to buy you a card and as I read through all of the incredibly boring sentimental trash about love I thought, these people who write these cards are either numb on crystal meth, pitifully dull or don’t have their heart into it, and so I went home with a bag of red paper, glue and glitter with the idea of making a card for you myself and I just haven’t had the chance to make it yet.”

Thankfully he laughed, as he usually does instead of getting upset, I was going to make you a card too. And we began a very funny banter on what we were going to do for each other, but didn’t.

Baddy: “I was going to buy you candy at The Sweet Life candy shop in Snowmass but I knew that you would look at the marshmallow candy hearts and think, why is my husband so clueless? And then I kept hearing the add for pro flowers over the radio and I thought about buying you flowers but knew that Valentines Day is the one day that if I bought you flowers your thought would be, gee thanks for the lack of imagination.”

I thought that he would be elated that I had finally come round to not expecting anything for the big day of love but I was surprised to hear disappointment in his voice, “Really? Not even a card?” he reiterated.

As we nuzzled each other at the dining table and I stroked his stubbly whiskers he said, “Isn’t that all that matters? That we love each other?” and I returned, “For now, yes. But perhaps we should reevaluate next year,” and we took each other’s hands and quickly made our way up to our bedroom while the children happily sat like zombies with their mouths open while watching some horrible movie on our pitifully outdated television set.

Such is life in the real world.

Happy Valentines Day everyone!!!

27 thoughts on “Valentine’s Day Sucks”

  1. Beautiful, Jill. And it sounds to me like the perfect end to a wonderful day. Now where is that husband of mine? Happy Valentine’s Day!

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  2. Yeah, I think V day is way too comercial.. it’s also our anniversary date. We decided to stay home make a wonderful dinner together! No kids living at home so we don’t have to sneak up stairs!lol.

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  3. I took care of 7 kids ages 7-12 who entertained themselves swimming in the indoor pool, playing WII, pool and then joining me to watch the Olympics on a sweet flatscreen . So today my dear, we will ski as a family,with a very tired Elliott who watched something on pirates and kept my husband awake until 1 a.m. having nightmares and enjoy a valentines dinner at a restaurant with some of the money I made last night. Happy V day!!!!

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    1. Kristi,

      Sounds like one hell of a Valentine’s Day. I guess we all do what we have to do and I’m sure that once you embraced it, it turned out to be better than you expected it to. Right?

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  5. Hi Jillian! OMG you guys made it thru Valentine’s Day w/o cards? Oh horrors! 🙂 I’m teasing, you know. Seems like a popular “holiday” for young lovers to me – hubs and I had our share decades ago – enough already! We make EVERY day a love ya day!

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  6. For the little kids it is so cute. We had so much fun making Valentines together and they loved delivering them to their friends. Their classrooms had the most adorable parties. I loved every minute of volunteering for my son’s class and he was so happy. They were so excited today to give their valentines to us and their grandparents. They also loved their little treats.

    As for me, we have a great card shop that has beautiful cards that are blank inside. When I sit down to write something to my husband, I am always reminded of the sweetest most memorable times of our lives, before kids. This year I remembered dancing on the roof of our villa in Jamaica, my dress flowing in the warm breeze, him staring at me with eyes so filled with love, the bright moon behind his head in a sky filled with stars, the smell and sound of the ocean, candles, a bottle of wine and opera music. It was a dream awake. He was my dream boy. I’ll never forget him saying as I ran up to the roof in kitten heals (a 35 year old with absolutely no interest in fashion), “that dress looks like something Sophia Loren would wear.” I don’t think of these things everyday, these precious moments that lead to our future. But when trying to decide what to write in a Valentines Day card they come flooding back to me and into the card which I give to him. That and a box of chocolates is my Valentine.

    It’s sentimental and sweet and moves us to remember. It’s a source of fun and joy for my little ones. That doesn’t suck.

    All in, the shopping, thinking, and writing is under 45 minutes.

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    1. Hello Elizabeth,

      It is good to hear from you and what a deliciously descriptive story of you and your husband together on a rooftop in Jamaica!

      I did end up writing a letter to Wade and it described an evening that I always remember of the two of us talking into the night, under the stars, as the boys slept soundly in the camper. Those intimate moments that we share together are so valuable and now we have one more night to add to our repertoire. As for dancing in a Sophia Loren dress…love can make you feel more beautiful than life itself, can’t it?

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  7. I remember once popping over to your house one day with no sight of Jillian and Wade while two children were plopped in front of the TV, barely turning there head at my entrance (I could have been a bear!) I thought, how odd, Jillian never lets her children watch TV where could she be? Hmmmmmm…….
    I love the fact that you and Wade atleast got to sit down to a romantic dinner and managed to sneak off. You both had wonderful thoughts for each other for a loving day. That is a good marriage.
    For Valentines Weekend, I went to Mohegan Sun which is a very bad version of Vegas, to hear Kid Rock. The show was fun. Sound system lousy. Company I was with got very drunk and I just wanted to go home! Not my scene!
    I came back to Boston, got into bed with chocolates and watched movies! Needless to say, my behind seems to be a big cushion that won’t stop following me around!
    Would rather have been with my children anyday. They are off skiing with Peter.
    Happy Valentines day
    Love you
    Melanie

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    1. Hello Mouse,

      I guess television is the best way to stop the boys from trying to pick the lock on our door while Wade and I are trying to enjoy each other. You always seemed to have the knack of walking in on me, remember Nantucket on the beach…at night…when you came round the corner and shined the lights from your car on me???? Remember????

      I wish that you and I had been able to snuggle up eating chocolates and watching movies together on Valentine’s Day! I love you, Jillian

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  10. Ah, yes. That’s Valentine’s Day in the real world, all right. My Valentine wasn’t even in the U.S. on Valentine’s Day. Travelling for work. But on the bright side, he’ll be able to get me some really great Valentine’s Day chocolates for probably 75% off! Now that’s Valentine’s Day in the real, practical world. ;o)
    .-= Holly Bowne´s last blog ..Quote of the Week =-.

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    1. Hello Holly,

      Too bad you couldn’t be with your Valentine somewhere exotic and far away.

      And don’t forget your friends when that delicious chocolate gets delivered.

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  12. Hey Jillian,

    You always make me think. I realized just reading the headline that I used to think it sucked and then didn’t think about it much and that in thinking about it, it didn’t really suck that much…even when I was single or when I was newly dating someone and it was so awkward.

    E

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  15. Hi sweetie,
    I can top yours! Our family was in Denver at the Embassy suites (hockey tournament weekend). The family ate take-out chinease food in our hotel room and watched the olympic skaters! No nooky, no nothing! BUT – Jeff and I will go out tomorrow night! AND I did get lots of roses on Tuesday! (Mountain Flowers, my friend Wendy’s store – she is awesome) Better late than never!
    Hugs & Love to you!

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  16. Pingback: Happy Frickin’ Valentine’s Day Husband - yowza!

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