My Valentine

Valentine's Day is a day of expressing your love for your sweetheart. With the big day looming this weekend I feel I should introduce you to Steve, my valentine. Gosh, he's a swell husband. He does all the laundry and shopping. Our house is in the finest of repair with no "To Do List" items left unchecked at anytime. He brings me flowers all the time and listens intently whenever I speak. We never argue and I feel blessed at all times. Right?!

Not even close. But it works for us and I wouldn't change a thing. Our house always has a "To Do List" in process and I've been known to buy underwear on occasion to stem off doing the laundry one more day. I think he watches too much TV. He does. He thinks I am too judgemental. He may be right, but you really shouldn't feed kids cake for breakfast even if it is a weekend. I think he's the smartest, funniest, most caring man in the world when I'm not thinking things like, "Why didn't the idiot just carry it upstairs the first time?"

I joke with Steve all the time that the buff guy with a full head of hair who asked me to marry him was false advertising. He teases back that the manicured, high heeled, slim waisted, full time paycheck, career girl who said "yes" was not exactly truth in advertising either. The reality is that every day Steve supports, challenges and loves me beyond anything I knew was even possible on that fateful October day in 1996 when I said, "I do."

He was right beside me when I started my own business and took more than his share of home and child care to help get it off the ground. He was my cheer leader on days when I thought I'd fail. He was my IT department and head maintenance guy if called upon. He was my rock as we buried four loved ones in unrelated deaths over the course of one year. He held my hand and was strong as our son underwent very scary medical tests that same year on his way to a diagnosis of spastic diaplegia, a form of CP. He watched in pain as I spent months trying to do it all - keep a business afloat while doing the test and therapy circuit with our son not to mention being there for our daughter and a host of greiving friends and relatives. I gained 27 lbs and was polishing off a double bottle of wine every 3 or 4 nights. He told me he was terrified when I casually said one day, "I'd never do this, but I understand how someone could get to a point where they'd consider suicide." He was visibly relieved, and 100% supportive, when I decided that I needed to close the business at a financial loss to bring balance back in my life and care for our family. It is thanks solely to him and his unwavering love and support that I have healed. I have my life back in balance. Though I never dreamed life could spin so crazily off track as it did in these past few years, it is beyond comforting to know that Steve is by my side lending me his strength when I have none. When he looks at me I see unequivocal trust and love. There is nothing like it. We're not perfect. We need to work out more, eat healthier, not yell at the kids as much, get a handle on our laundry situation, clean out the garage and a million other things. But I wouldn't trade any of it.

We play. We work. We laugh. We love. We fight. We forgive. And may God grant me 50 more years of it with Steve by my side. Happy Valentines Day!