Valentine's Day Victory

Valentine's Day is the kind of holiday where I can take it or leave it. We're not always on good terms, but the way I see it is that if I'm still breathing at the end of the day, it's a success. I've dated guys that didn't bother to make it special, making me feel like an afterthought, an obligation, a nuisance. I've dated guys who made an effort at least to make the day nice. I've also been dumped around this time of year. So, yeah, I'm not always on good terms with the holiday of chubby cherubs with bows and arrows.

This year, however, I would consider a success. Thanks to my parents. Thanks to Dad. I wasn't expecting anything at all, with the exception of maybe some chocolate from my parents.

I had to work a ten hour shift today, and I literally had no energy. I didn't want to get up - I was just tired and didn't want to get up. I dragged myself to work, where a sales rep passing through town brought us a box of Krispy Kreme donuts. I hadn't had one of those in years. I pretty much inhaled one, telling myself it doesn't count if you only eat one every 5 years or so. I was able to stay busy until lunch. Another sales rep for one of our products came in and bought all of us lunch. That was a perk, as I hadn't known about it. The sales rep saved me from my PB & J. By the time I finally grabbed my sandwich, I was starving and I think the sandwich tasted good. After lunch, my energy took a nose dive. And I wasn't the only one - everyone seemed to be dying for a post-lunch-afternoon nap.

I abused my power over the ROP student that came in - making her clean up a couple nasty messes, sweep, mop, take out the trash. In all fairness, I did all the laundry, got my hands and arms dirty helping a doctor clean out a laceration under a dogs chin, making a puppy vomit because he got into Mommy's Valentine candy, cleaned exam rooms, dumped the mop bucket, and started the dishwasher. Among various things that popped up. 

Around 5pm, everything was done, and I got a text from Mom that said I "have the sweetest dad ever". Well, I already knew that. But I figured that meant he got me something nice for Valentine's Day.

And I was right.

I walked in the house at 6pm, smelling something cooking on the barbecue, a single red rose, the world's sweetest card (no, seriously), and a huge chocolate-peanut-butter candy - from my Dad. My Mom made sugar cookies, got me a sweet card, and a red and white stuffed puppy, and a Kit Kat. The two of them cooked up an amazing dinner of tri-tip, salad, garlic bread, and homemade french fries.

After dinner, we settled in for our recorded TV shows - one of them was a new Inside the Actor's Studio, which Hugh Jackman, who belted out a few tunes of Heartbreak Hotel. From there, the three of us lost it. Mom and I teased each other about who Hugh was singing to, when Dad pulled out the dog's rope toy out of his lap. I don't remember exactly what set us off - who said what - but the gutter was involved. Mom asked if that was a bone or if he was happy to see her - we all died laughing. It kept going, anything with the word "bone" in it, we started laughing harder and harder. I literally had tears rolling down my cheeks, I could hardly breathe, and it was relentless. We did eventually make it through the show. But I'm pretty sure we did the equivalent of a million situps/crunches with all the laughing we did.

All in all, I would say that this Valentine's Day was a good one.  Thanks to the best parents a girl could ever ask for.