Hallmark, Valentine's, and things like that

Like Mamacita, we used to say Valentine's Day wasn't important, that we didn't really need to celebrate it. And we thought it was true. My birthday falls soon after (yes, tomorrow), so it really seemed unfair to be demanding gifts for Valentine's.

And yet. It is nice to have a small something, just because. And, there's the whole elementary-school-Valentine-thing. If the kids are making a big deal of it, maybe that's enough, but maybe we want to put our own stamp on it, too.

So yesterday we had a Valentine's Day celebration the likes of which I don't think we've ever done before. I came home early-ish from work and found Mark wrapping a gift --he had something for everyone all ready. We'd actually bought Mariah's gift together, but he'd taken on Nick's gift on his own. And mine. I had little godiva chocolate boxes for everyone, and a promise of a gift for him. And then when it turned out the late-afternoon run to Mariah's school was going to be a little earlier than we'd thought, Mark took that on while I picked up Nick from his after-school class and then hit the grocery store for a few things. So we sat down together to shrimp with pasta, artichokes, brownies, and ice cream. The pasta was overdone and the brownies underdone, but the kids insisted that they liked them that way.

That is, not only did no one complain about the meal, they liked the substandard fare I put in front of them.

Well, ok, so it wasn't so terribly substandard, but I've got to say, I prefer my angel hair pasta al dente, and it really really wasn't. The underdone brownies, though, were fine with ice cream.

So, to sum up: apparently I can cook a meal for the whole family that no one will object to if (1) I mess up a few dishes, and say so and/or (2) there are presents and/or chocolate on the table.