Valentine's Day Reflections

We are not ardent Valentine's Day celebrators in our house.  That is partly because our anniversary occurs in close proximity to the holiday, but it is mostly because we don't so much focus on holidays as the year as a whole.  Why limit your celebrations to such a limited few days?  Why not celebrate early and often?  That way if you miss a major holiday because of work or other circumstances, it just isn't that big of a deal because you have already been celebrating.  When we first got together there were things that interfered with our being together for both of our birthdays that probably forged this attitude, but it has served us well over the years, and I am not suggesting a change.

This year has been different though.  For one thing, I spent almost the whole first month of 2016 in bed, and over half of that was in the hospital.  I was really sick and very slow to recover, which makes one take stock in one's life.  I feel incredibly fortunate to have someone who has not only stuck with me in times that are good, but who has been there when things have been hard.  One thing that I learned when our son had cancer many years ago is that there are people who will pull in when things are bad and there are people who will pull out.  Thankfully the former far outnumber the later, but it is not a bad idea to know which is which, and most importantly, who you can count on.  I am lucky in that my Valentine is one for the ages, whether  I am bed bound or foot loose and travel free.  I hope to have more of the later than the former in the days ahead, but I am not worried about where my support will come from.