The Anti-Valentine’s Day

I meant to post this yesterday, but forgot to queue it up...oops! I'm a day behind, so my next cute post of pictures from the weekend will have to wait a day or two. Hopefully I'll be able to add a few from Ian's day off with Daddy tomorrow, President's Day.

Well, We decided to unofficially boycott Valentine's Day this year. I'm sure I took the pressure off Shawn by making this decision all by myself. He unceremoniously dropped a Hershey's Kiss on my couch while I watched TV last night. Happy "Val-Times" (as he calls it).

Whether or not it "stimulates" the economy, it seems like an unnecessary way to spend money these days, so we skipped it. Grandma brought a nice gift of Dr. Seuss books and cash (!!!) for Ian, but we did absolutely nothing for anyone. I bought a box of Valentines for Ian's friends at school, but since he doesn't go on Fridays, he missed the party and I didn't partake in the supplying of garbage food for the little monsters. It's OK. He wasn't feeling well and I'm sure that every kid in his class will be hopped up on sugar and a mess by the end of the day. Ian is fighting a cold (me too) and would have probably stayed home even if it weren't already a scheduled day off. He was making excuses to lay down with his blanket all morning and was crying when I left for work. Grandma's so used to an easy breezy Ian, I'm not sure she has seen this side of him! (Update: Upon arriving home, I learned that he was his perky self within minutes of my departure...and stayed that way and then some all weekend).

Shawn proposed to me on Valentine's Day 14 years ago, but it has never been a major holiday for me. I'm not a flowers and candy girl and the idea of a crowded restaurant for the sake of a day made up by retailers…well I'm just not that into it. So, it's a normal day for us. Not pomp & circumstance and no pink/red hearts around the house. I much prefer to save the excitement and celebrate our Anniversary at the end of the month or my birthday in July, which are really my special days...that I don't have to share with the rest of the world.

I did find a picture of Shawn and me right around the time we were engaged. I suppose it could be considered our Engagement Photo since it was actually taken as we were scouting out possible wedding locations. It was after the headache of this research that we decided to go to St. Thomas and get married on the beach instead. It seems a million years ago. In fact, the bench we're sitting on was at a restaurant and nursery called The Herb Farm when it was located in Fall City, Washington… not far from where we live now. The restaurant was destroyed by fire not long after this and the nursery closed. It was a vacant lot the last time I drove by, with no sign of its former charming self. The Herb Farm was re-established elsewhere, but this was still one of my favorite places. I'm sad that it's gone.

Note our cute matchy matchy outfits. Do kids in love still do this? Green jeans (remember colored denim?) with almost matching boots (remember cowboy boots?) and white shirts. Weren't we so adorable back then? I'm pretty sure we had matching tan leather bomber jackets with us that day, too. Mine had huge shoulder pads. I remember them vividly. Ah, those were the days (like, totally).

Side note: I'm so excited to see a deaf player on The Amazing Race this season...and coming in first in the beginning leg, to boot! Many forget that Ian is technically considered Hard of Hearing since he only has partial hearing in his right ear, to what extent we still don't know. It was good to be reminded that a deaf or Hard of Hearing person can do the same things that hearing folks can do... just without the acoustics. No matter the future outcome for Ian's ear or hearing, he can and will do whatever he sets his mind to. If he has proven anything to us and those who know him, it's that he doesn't let anything get in his way!