Love is a many splendid thing. It’s also complicated, frustrating, annoying, exhilarating, comforting and blissful.
I am happily married, but some days my husband seems to go out of his way to drive me insane. He consistently leaves his shoes directly in the middle of the entranceway so I trip over them in the middle of the night when I can’t sleep and have to take the dog out. He constantly “forgets” to pick up his creamer, soap, razors or whatever else he “needs” that day and asks me to swing by the grocery store on my way home, usually after a particularly long, stressful day. If he uses the last of the milk, or whatever, he usually doesn’t tell me so when I go to use whatever it is he’s finished I get super annoyed, and his response is always, “it’s not my fault.” It’s the little things that make the biggest impact.
That said, it’s also the little things that make me love him so much. He knows when I’m not having a good day and goes out of his way to make me laugh. He comes upstairs nearly every commercial break to give me a kiss when I’m reading in bed and he’s down stairs watching TV. He is willing to go on silly adventures I plan and is eager to join in the childish fun.
He’s imperfect but wonderful and on Valentine’s Day I like to do something a little special for him. I don’t eat pork and since I do most (let’s be honest all) of the grocery shopping and the majority of the cooking (I make him cook once a week and even that is a struggle), he doesn’t get to eat bacon, his all-time favourite food, very often. Sure I get him turkey bacon but he insists that is a farce and insult to “real bacon.” So for Valentine’s Day last year I made him a bouquet of bacon roses. Honestly, Google bacon roses and prepare to be impressed.
The bacon roses were a complete and total success and my hubby was utterly impressed with what I’d made him. I believe the words “best wife ever” were used. Trouble is, now I’ve set the bar far too high and struggled to find something to top it this year. Ultimately I made him a jar of bacon salt and a tool belt filled with his favourite candies.
I, unlike many of my female friends, don’t really understand the appeal of Valentine’s Day. Sure, I like to do special things for my guy and I like it when he does something special for me but I don’t need one specific day each year to do so. I certainly do not expect my hubby to spend an exorbitant amount of money for a Valentine’s gift.
According to a new survey conducted by Research Management Group for Walmart Canada, more than half of Canadians will spend $177 on average for a Valentine’s Day gift this year. To me, that amount seems excessive and completely unnecessary. Honestly, the whole idea that couples have to buy something for each other on Feb. 14 because a chubby baby-man with wings who shoots love arrows deems it so is a ridiculous tradition.
The history behind Valentine’s Day really has no association to the giving of gifts. In the third century Roman Emperor Claudius II made it a crime punishable by death to associate with Christians. A man named Valentinus decided to continue practicing Christianity and was imprisoned. On the eve of his execution, he wrote to his daughter and signed it, “from your Valentine.” He was executed on Feb. 14, 270 AD and since then his message of affection has been exchanged around the world on Valentine’s Day.
Though my husband and I did, and will likely continue to, have a tiny celebration on Valentine’s Day, we like to do special things for each other throughout the year and keep Feb. 14 costs and expectations (excluding all things bacon) to a minimum.
