Valentine's Day Diaries

You'll find me reminiscing a lot on this blog, because lets face it a housewife really doesn't have much to tell you about her mundane activities.

But well, some days are less mundane, like Valentines Day when your husband surprises you with flowers, wine and chocolate. Cliche, cliche, cliche, I know! But I have to hand it to my guy. Since our dating days he has not once failed to send me flowers on Valentines Day. And he calls himself the quintessential unromantic chap; the unromantic chap who made a long distance call on one Valentines Day (VD){Yes, I know it also stands for Venereal Disease, but I am gonna go with it} and played a love song on the guitar for me. Those were the days huh? The guitar is now in a store room, probably the home of a few rodents, copulating while making some sweet music.

Though I have a romantic streak in me, when it comes to VD I really hate showing any enthusiasm. So one year when I received cards and flowers, I wanted to send something back; long distance relationships are hard, I had to show I cared. I reluctantly went to the card store, with vain attempts to hide myself while in there; where the hell are you going to hide a large frame such as mine in a 4ftX4ft store. Also on VD and the run up to VD the "love" section of the store is all red, complete with hanging hearts and a huge board that says "VALENTINES DAY CARDS AVAILABLE HERE", only the disco lights and flashing arrows pointing towards the cards are missing. What can you do, stand at the "Sympathies" section and attempt to chose a VD card? So the best way to do it is eeny meeny miny moe; three cards, a quick payment and a swift dash out the store. A close look at purchases later revealed that I actually hd a naughty card suggesting sex, one with poetry that I just couldn't understand and a red X'mas card with a fat Santa on it. Oh well, so much for my ingenious card picking technique. And these fabulous cards showing him how much I love him, reached him exactly two weeks after VD.
Another year, I decided to be good and send him something that would actually reach him on VD. So I went online and ordered him a bottle of wine, chocolates and a rose also I think. I know this sort of thing is a big NO NO for guys. They hate this stuff; but given my limited resources these were things I could afford. Also, I had it sent to his workplace, another big NO NO. He was quite shocked to see this huge package for him, and since it didn't mention his first name he was going to send it back. The courier guy and he were probably shoving it back and forth at each other when the former asked the latter to confirm his mobile no and it matched with the one on the package. So my Valentine was now confused; surely his girlfriend could not have sent him something already; it was too early.

Now that we're married there are no more trips to the match-box sized card store; you'd think they'd want to make these stores bigger, but no, while choosing cards you're also trying not to brush against the creepy guy who's looking at a card that reads "You make my pants ping".
So with cards not an option any more, and learning from my previous disaster of a gift, what can you gift a guy on VD. He can get away with flowers, wine and chocolate, though he does have the option of diamonds; and I have to choose from platinum cuff links, silk ties and single malt whiskies. No fair, no fair, not with my depleting finances.

So this VD hubby walks in quite late at night with a bunch of lovely red roses, a wine bag that has my favourite wine and a box of chocolates. He was hoping to take me out to dinner as well, he got brownie points just for thoughtfulness. Now I was actually quite surprised that he remembered it was VD and how the hell did he manage to procure a lovely bunch of red roses at that time of the night. There are exactly 3 florists on the drive between his workplace and home. The first place he tried, the florist had no flowers, zilch, all sold out. The second place, there were about a dozen desperate looking men scavenging the florists place for flowers; they looked like hungry vultures apparently. One guy asked the florist what did he have left and he said that there were only pink flowers. The man jumped at it and said, "Any colour will do man, I just need flowers, any flower, any colour, please just give me flowers". The men looked like their lives were on the line. So seeing no hope here hubby moves on to the next florist.
The florist tells him that he's lucky because he just had a bouquet cancelled. The next minute another desperate looking chap walks in only to be told that hubby took the last bunch. He begged him for just one flower from the bunch and seeing his pitiful state, trying to imagine what would be in store for the poor chap if he didn't oblige hubby generously gave him a flower and also offered more. But the chap was happy with one, insisted on paying for it and went out a relieved man. My hubby spoke of it like he saved the chap's life.

I really don't know what the fuss is all about; but then I got my flowers, wine and chocolate. I am still waiting for my diamonds.