The Sensible Valentine

This Valentine’s Day, I will not complain that I didn’t get to go out anywhere “good” to eat or get spoiled with chocolates and roses. This year I somehow feel different about the month of love.

It is especially the month of love because it is our anniversary month and instead of planning big romantic things like we usually do for our Leap Year anniversary, we are planning practical, sensible things; because while it is the both the big (and small) romantic things that remind us of the commitment that we made 16 years ago, it is the practical and sensible things that have allowed us to come this far (mostly it’s the hubby who has come this far… dragging me kicking and screaming in the country behind him. True Story).

This Valentine’s Day I’m content for all that I have. Yesterday, Brian and I ventured out on a trip to meet my new doctor (I don’t have just a doctor, I have a team of doctors. Awesome.) and learn how well my heart and pacemaker are keeping up with me despite all my efforts to ignore my situation. (I really don’t have a situation but I liked the word better than saying DISEASE or DEFECT.)

After a long six hours of testing, waiting, talking, analyzing and meeting just a slew of people who are so patient, kind, and just amazingly awesome, we have determined that the pacemaker is fine and I am doing “remarkable well” (for a non compliant patient. Heh.) and the likelihood of surgery is pretty much zero. Of course I will have my first ever cardiac CAT scan that will allow the doctors to see just how well the repair work from birth is holding up after all these years… why no one thought of this before is beyond me, as well as the ablation surgery from six years ago. I also have to do the dreaded treadmill stress test (it involves me begging to be let off the damn thing after probably a minute or two on it) and oxygen analysis (that’s the not the correct terminology but I can’t remember what it is so that’s how I’m describing things). I’m going to try and schedule that stuff for a month or so out. I needs to get in shape just for the test yo!

Brian hates these long days. He’s not used to them and he’s not used to teams of doctors swarming in. He had his questions, probably so he could remind me later that I was fine and not dying so yes I really do have to dishes on occasion, but he held up like a champ and managed to stay awake all day after working a 12 hour shift.

Umm... So Yes. I do have a few of these little lovelies for Valentine's Day

So there will be no whining from me about Valentine’s Day. I don’t need flowers or candy or fancy schmancy anything this year. I have good health (shocking) and a wonderful, patient man who will drive almost two hours in rush hour traffic on no sleep, make faces at me from across the waiting room, play angry birds on my Nook to keep himself awake, withstand 6 hours of shuffling back and forth for testing and then treat us both to dinner out and a good night’s sleep away from the kids and in a month, he’ll likely do it again because he knows I will not drive myself in downtown Columbus traffic.

Tonight, I will be snuggled up with kiddos on the couch, reading homework, recounting my adventure and the tests (my kids are weird, they like hearing how mommy looked like she was wired up like a bomb for a day), and then finish off my day with a glass of wine and a kiss or two from the ever patient husband and just be thankful that instead of planning surgery this year, we’ll be planning a 2nd floor for the garage, saving money for conferences, our daughter’s trip to DC, and a new washing machine.

And for me, that just makes my heart sing the sweetest love song.

I hope you all have the best Valentine’s Day and are blessed in both in love, whether it be from that special someone or you kids, and in the practical and sensible things in life.

image: budgetstoc