Valentine Shenanigans

It’s a love/hate relationship

Ahh Valentine’s Day. A day to celebrate love, a day to spend time with loved ones. A day to play a brutal game of Monopoly? I can say there was no love around the table yesterday as the game got under way. It started with properties being bought up and eventually having hotels built on them to properties being bought, sold, traded and mortgaged to get out of debt all in the name of landing on a property with said hotel placed on it. There was the moments in which an older sister tried to bamboozled the younger brother out of his properties to rolling the dice before someone realized rent was owed to them. If there ever was a person that said Monopoly was a civilized game they were lying. With all this being said. We laughed, we yelled, we negotiated, I think we even had some tears shed but we had fun.

The raw emotions of the game will soon be smoothed over by the smell and then taste of homemade cookies. The traditional valentine gifts have already been given and mostly consumed (chocolate filled hearts don’t usually last long) and the “surprise” dinner that the hubs and I will have later will be ordered and picked up when Tyler is dropped off at the “parent’s night out” at the church. Not a traditional Valentine’s but one that is spent with loved ones.

Valentine’s Day looks different for many people. Flowers are given, candlelit dinners are prepared, and outings are planned. Valentine’s Day ushers in springtime, new growth and new beginnings. I wish I could say I believe that with snow and wind outside my window but the day does bring a certain amount of hope with it and yes “joy”. The day was spent with my loved ones. With the colder weather outside it meant we did more indoor things. Baking cookies and quietly stealing cookie dough being one of them. Games were played and projects completed. I am looking forward to warmer weather and spring flowers. I am enjoying the playfulness of Charlie the puppy and the look of contentment on Jorj’s face as he sleeps in between the spurts of Charlie excitement.

The smell of cookies is strong and almost impossible to ignore. I am excited for the “special dinner” tonight with my hubby. I am excited that my son gets to go have fun tonight and the girls are looking forward to movies tonight and playing their respective new games they just got. Valentine’s Day may look somewhat boring in my home but it is where my heart belongs. How does it look in your home? Do you go out and do something special? Do you stay in for the night? Do you gather your girlfriends up and go do an adventure together? With whatever you do, I hope you enjoy it. I hope you do what you want to do that brings your heart joy.