A Valentine's Day Ski

Chaucerian Valentines

Joy here...Today's Valentine's Day, a day where lovers run around trying to find appropriate and creative expressions of their love and affection for those they care about.  Schoolchildren exchange Valentines with their friends (and sometimes even their frenemies) and often make Valentine's crafts for their parents.  Spouses search out the perfect bouquet of flowers or chocolates that attempt to say "I still love you after all these years."  Young couples try to outdo one another with their romantic displays and inventive performances that articulate their love and devotion.

The ex-English professorial dork in me must take a moment to point out that Chaucer was the first to reference this kind of romantic love associated with St. Valentine's Day back in the fourteenth century:

For this was on seynt Volantynys day
Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make.

["For this was on Saint Valentine's Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate."]

It takes more than roses to make a relationship work.

But romance isn't just about little notes we give those we love; it isn't just about the chocolate we buy for each other (or hog all to ourselves); it isn't about the buying and giving of roses.  While everyone's relationship works differently, and no relationship would work without those little special touches every now and then, it seems to me that the most romantic thing doesn't come from a chocolatier or flower shop but comes in how you spend your time with the person you love.

That old cliche about being with your best friend might just actually make sense.

Nearly five years ago I married my best friend.  We had been friends for years and finally decided to go on a "date."  Well, we haven't looked back and it's going on ten years since we first met.

One of the things that makes us work is that we love hanging out with each other.  We share hobbies; we like doing the same thing; and we prioritize together time like nobody's business.  

Happy Valentine's Day...my first ski of 2013!

So while other lovers were getting in long lines to buy treats for those they care about and making reservations for fancy restaurants, The Man and I kitted ourselves out in our outdoor gear, waxed our cross country skis, and headed out to the park for our first cross country ski of the year.

Sure we were a little rusty; sure The Man fell over; sure we need some practice, but nothing says love better than spending a few hours together under a bright blue sky, sharing some laughs and getting the endorphins pumping.

Happy Valentine's Day,
Joy