Reflections on Valentine's Day

Several days after the fact, I hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day. Even though I'm a bit cynical about commercial holidays that they've created to put pressure on us to buy things and conform our lives a certain way, we celebrate V-Day and get out and do things as a family. It also happens to be our anniversary, so we can't ignore it, nor do we want to. We always have fun and usually do things together as a family.

This year it kind of crept up on us because life has been crazy with the weather, hockey for the kids and myself, and skiing. I've also been working more than I thought I would, so we're moving in many different directions on any given day. I think the fact that A is in school makes our lives a little busier, as well. Either way, we weren't sure what our plans were until a day or two before, but we decided that we'd have a celebratory dinner and then go see a movie. They just happened to be playing Casablanca at the college, and the kids agreed to sit through it with us. I sort felt bad because it's a slow movie, even by my old standards, and I was not impressed when I saw it way back when, but it is a classic, so I thought I'd give it another try.

N had hockey practice, as well, which we decided to forgo since it would complicate matters and I'm no longer enamored with his hockey program for reasons I'll explain at a later date. Mom and A also take an exercise class, which they wanted to attend. We were also toying with skiing, which we passed on because it was just too much stuff. So, after bringing A home from school, we chilled out for a bit and then headed out to the big city for dinner. We had killer Thai food at Kata, a new place downstairs where Bagel Basement used to be. I love that place, they have killer curry and the prices are very reasonable. It's no nonsense in terms of service and decor, but the food is awesome.

After supper we went to the theater and watched the movie, and I have to say that I enjoyed it more the second time around. I was "not young" when I saw it the first time, but maybe even the last few years have mellowed me out enough to appreciate it. Sure, it's sappy and campy and all that good stuff, but I liked it. The kids didn't complain one bit, though I'm guessing they won't be lining up to watch it again any time soon. The audience definitely leaned more toward the AARP spectrum, sort of like everything in this town.

All in all we had a nice Valentine's Day. We managed to surprise mom with flowers in the morning, and we ended it with a nice supper and movie. Best of all, we got to all hang out together. How can you beat that?

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Vanessa Pike-Russell for the pic.

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