My husband and I have counted many Valentine's Days together but I honestly cannot think of one that I find memorable in the usual way most would define the word. Something always comes up to prevent a celebration filled with flowers, chocolates, and all the sweet things associated with it. Family concerns, work, and even financial limitations almost always manage to make Valentine's Day an ordinary day for us. This year was no different.

Image Source: Prawny

Going Commercial

Like most women, I had romantic ideas of what a perfect Valentine's Day celebration would be. You know, the stuff of which commercialized Valentine's day celebrations are made of - gifts, candlelit dinner, and some sort of "public display of affection" just enough to make onlookers sigh with a hint of envy and not disgust...ha ha ...those were the days. I admit there was a time I wished that my husband would have been more showy during our boyfriend-girlfriend days especially when my female office-mates would get their flowers and chocolates delivered to the office on V-Day. 

I would get my flowers and chocolates as well but he prefers to bring it to me at home. He would bring food as well so we won't have to go out and compete with all the other couples for the best dining or concert scene seats for the day which was the "in" thing to do during our time. Although I actually appreciated what he did and preferred the same set-up, there was still a part of me that wanted to be part of the crowd and go commercial. Fortunately in time, I wised up and realized the value of what we have.

Realization

Now that we are much older, Valentine's Day has even become more an ordinary day that comes and go, year in and out. However cliche it may seem though, we continue to discover and show how much we value each other not in a single day but in every single day that we spend together. This is not withstanding the disagreements that we still have after being together for so many years.

One day last week, both of us were feeling particularly exhausted, what with all the domestic and work responsibilities we had to deal with daily. Neither one of us felt like driving to Manila knowing the frustrating road traffic condition awaiting us there. Since we had to accomplish one important task that day and really had to be in Manila, we decided to take the bus instead, hoping that it would be a more relaxing option. It actually turned out to be a happy trip down memory lane.

Remembering

We usually took the bus during our dating days and we had so much fun talking about anything under the sun. We were so focused on each other then. As our responsibilities grew through time, there was barely time to stay put, much less talk idly. Without meaning to, there was some kind of disconnect that occurred. Neither one of us talked  about it but we both knew and felt it.

The bus trip that we took finally paved the way to reconnect. We both missed talking with each other without time constraint. With only the time for fetching our children from school as a main consideration, we practically had the whole day to ourselves. We were in no way pressured even if we had to complete a very important task that day. After all, we were together.

My Say

I may not have a spectacular Valentine's Day celebration to boast of but I'm fine with that. I will not be a hypocrite and say that I would not love to be on some getaway trip with my husband but I am happy to say that I can live with it if the opportunity does not present itself. And knowing us, we would be happiest if we could have such a trip together with our children.

That said, even if Valentine's Day is seemingly an ordinary day for us, I am certainly grateful for the extraordinary love we share not only during the day but the rest of the year as well.