V-Day

We celebrated Valentine's Day at Target this year.
Fighting off a strangely lingering supervirus, we slogged out in the ice and snow to run some errands at everyone's favorite superstore. Realizing that it was February 13 and we hadn't bought each other candy, flowers or gifts, we found ourselves looking through the card aisle for notes for other family members.
And we had an idea. Instead of spending 3.99 on a Hallmark for each other that would sit on the fireplace mantle for two weeks and then be tossed, we picked out cards right then and there and exchanged them in-store between the office supplies and home electronics.
It was a sweetly romantic gesture shared in spite of hacking coughs and messy sneezes.
There will be no chocolates or teddy bears this year. No roses or candles. Just lozenges and facial tissues. Our dinner will consist not of wine and rich desserts, but of chamomille and Ni-Quil. We will be going to bed early tonight. But for none of the fun reasons. Flannel pjs and electric blankets will have to do.
But that's just fine with me. Love isn't always about fancy meals and lavish sweets. It's not about bouquets and teddy bears.
Sometimes it's simply about not minding the growing pile of gross wadded Kleenexes on the coffee table. It's about comforting each other through the runny noses, feverish shivers and sore throats.
That being said, I love my wife more and more every year. Whether we're in good health or laid up on the couch with the snotty sniffles, I enjoy every minute I spend with her.
I don't need a holiday to let my wife know that. I hope she already does Ideally, I would take her out, spend money on her and make a big to-do. I wish I could.
But this year, a run to the drug store will have to suffice.
And that's okay with me.
Happy Valentine's Day.