Valentine's Day

I have the sweetest wife ever. Really.

We're usually not so good with the holidays (especially Valentine's / anniversaries, coming so close to Christmas, when we're still burned out on gift-giving and such), and this year we both managed to forget to acknowledge our wedding anniversary on February 10 until it was technically over.

I greeted Shrike at the door when she got home from work, around 12:30 am, saying "I'm a dick. Happy anniversary."

Her response? "I'm a bigger dick. Happy anniversary to you, too."

We did a bit better on the 12th, the anniversary of when we met in real life, but still no big celebration, certainly nothing befitting the ten freaking years that we've been together.

Could we redeem ourselves on Valentine's Day?

Yes, I think we could.

Shrike was scheduled to be off work yesterday and today, which was a good start. On Wednesday, we were talking on the phone while I was driving home from work.

Whozat: So, what do you want to do?
Shrike: Well, I'd rather not go out to dinner that night, because it will be so crowded.
Whozat: That sounds good. Besides it will be 8 o'clock before I get home.
Should I pick up dinner?
Shrike: Oh, we can play it by ear.
Whozat: We have no food. We have to go out, or I can pick up.
Shrike: Oh, we'll figure it out.
Whozat: (Refusing to just let it go) Well, should I bring something home?
Shrike: Ok, I have to tell you something. I hate you.
Whozat: Well, that's going to put a damper on the Valentine's celebration. What did I do?
Shrike: I went to the grocery today, and bought ingredients for peanut soup. It was supposed to be a surprise!

Oops.

Peanut soup, as I may have mentioned before, is a recipe that my family discovered at Colonial Williamsburg, and which Anonymama makes only for very special occassions like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

(Maybe just Christmas, now that Thanksgiving is hosted by BabyBro and HisLovelyWife.)

Shrike is quite the fan of the peanut, peanut butter, peanut butter pie and, of course, peanut soup.

At Christmas dinner, she generally has seconds or thirds and fills up on soup, ignoring the turkey, dressing, and the rest.

So, while I know that it's not exactly altruistic of her to make peanut soup for me, it is very special and touching when she does because, a> it's Anonymama's recipe and b> Shrike does not cook, so this is a very big deal.

So, we discussed it further, I suggested she also pick up a bottle of wine, we agreed something solid would be a nice addition to the meal, so she'd also make cornbread and get some spinach for salad.

When I talked to her from work yesterday, I told her that I had a little suprise for her when I got home. I couldn't wait, and actually told her during my "I'm on my way" call that I had taken off work today, so I could stay home with her.

Woo Hoo!

Not a bad way to start the evening, with the knowledge that it's not, after all, a "school night."

When I got home from work, the house smelled incredible, with the peanut soup and cornbread both just finished cooking.

Then I saw that she also had flowers (tulips) on the table, and a card (good thing I stopped on my way home Wednesday and got her one!) and some fancy Hershey Kisses (Truffles. Oh my Gawd!)

And there was the CD player, all loaded up with the brand new mix of, shall we say, "romantic" songs, which she'd burned, just for me.

I got out our wedding goblets and poured the wine, we toasted ourselves, and ten years together, and ten-thousand more to come, and George Washington Carver, and had a lovely, romantic dinner.

The rest of the evening, I shall leave to the imagination. . . .