"It's that can't eat, can't sleep, reach for the stars, over the fence, world series kind of love."

     Valentine’s Day.  Sigh.  Normally I give this holiday barely a thought…for some reason this year I was totally into it.  Usually, Valentine’s Day is Neil’s holiday.  He always surprises us with bags of candy and flowers and little notes of appreciation...I like to think of him as my "hokie romantic".  But this year I decided I wanted in on the action.  So I planned out a family movie night (which are HUGE in our house).  I designed my own scratch off lottery tickets, with a matching game on them…the prize: a family movie night—I know, exciting stuff here!  I then brought out the movie gift bucket…complete with:

new straw cups for the kids (our essential Shopko ice water movie night cups...)

The Smurfs (Cuz who doesn't love little blue people?),

Popcorn, and Movie Theater Candy all stored inside this fabulous M&M popcorn bucket!

   The kids were screaming like they had truly won the lottery.  Either way, I was feeling pretty darn impressed with myself.  Thinking I had really blown Neil out of the water.  Shazam!  Right?
   So I go into my bedroom to start getting ready for school...and that's when the little notes start appearing...remember my "hokie romantic"?  Yeah.  Him.  In the center of my bathroom mirror is a crudely cut cardboard heart with the simple:  I <3 U taped to the very center of it...Okay.  One.  Tiny.  Display of Affection.  I move on.  Shortly after that I reach for my purse...and there it is:   Hello Kitty winking at me, asking me to "Be Mine?"...yes, she is stuck onto my purse with...zebra print duck tape.  Just another little token of my husband's affection.  I give him that look that says, "Really, Neil, Hello Kitty?"  And he chuckles and gives me that sheepish look that says, "Sorry, hokie romantic here!" that warms my heart.  What's next?
     I'm leaving for work, I open up my van door and find another envelope lying on the front seat, this one has a Hello Kitty "Best Friends" stuck to the envelope, with, I honestly think guerrilla glue from the junk drawer...inside is a handwritten note, of such sweet and heartfelt sentiment, that I will have perma-grin going on the rest of the day.
     Of course, that was not the end of it...because this is NEIL we are talking about...and Valentine's Day is HIS thing, remember.  I am in the middle of our Reading story with my third graders, when Miss Hemmy walks in with a delivery...a box...and sitting in the box is a stuffed bear, holding a "Be Mine" pillow (which my children will be fighting me for when we get home) and a vase of flowers with three different colored roses--one for each of our three children...and another card scratched out in his barely legible script making me feel like the most loved person on the planet.  Because THAT is Neil's speciality....making me feel loved.  Plain and simple.