In 1999, when I was barely pregnant with Cal, we unwittingly set the tone for Valentine's Days to come. Early pregnancy, as many of you know, leaves you the kind of tired that is a tired beyond imagining. It's an indescribable tired. And it was in the depth of this tired that Valentine's Day came. Neel and I were in line in the grocery store one evening when I noticed that the guy in front of me was buying grocery store chocolates and grocery store roses. It took a minute (so, so tired), but it finally dawned on me. Valentine's Day. I turned to Neel (again, so tired) and said, "I swear to God, I hope you haven't gotten me anything for Valentine's Day."
About some things, we're rather unsentimental.
A friend of mine who'd recently parted ways with a guy she was dating said, "I'm so jealous of what you and Neel have." And then I pointed out that he gave me a choice of watching Munich or Awakenings on Valentine's Night. See? It's not all grocery store roses and chocolates around here. To add insult to injury, in the manner that things have mostly gone for me so far in 2015, none of the goodies I ordered for Neel and Cal arrived in time. Cue the sad trombone.
After the blusteriest night we've had in years (Is that even a word? It might be a Winnie-the-Pooh word.) and our coldest weather all winter, all our eyes are on the forecast for snow. Fingers crossed for snow! It's been on the chalkboard by our front door for weeks now. We're trying not to get our hopes up. Cal had Friday off for conferences and now today for President's Day, and we wouldn't turn down a five day weekend. They really should be the norm, actually. And if it happens, I'm planning on making sand tarts. !!! I had the loveliest conversation on Facebook with friends who remember and loved my grandmother after last week's post, and I'm even more inspired.
I can't sign off for the day without thanking you for all your kind words lately. I've been so, so busy these last weeks that I've been somewhat neglectful of this space and I need to respond to each of your thoughtful comments. I can't imagine leaving this space for good, especially not while my family is in its current configuration. But I remain acutely aware of all that digital noise and its impact on me. I don't want this space to become part of the noise. My initial thought was to dial down to Tuesday/Thursday posting, but my favorite way to start my week is to check in on you all, so maybe I should show up at the table too. Love you, my ducks. XO
