Valentine's week

This year I decided to do something a little different for my celebration of Valentine's Day. I spread out the celebration over an entire week, trying to give a small gift to Benjamin each day instead of just one big gift. When he found out what I was up to, he liked the idea and surprised me throughout the week with several thoughtful gifts as well.

One day Benjamin gave me a pot of cheery daffodils. He didn't know it, but I had been admiring those very flowers at the store for a couple of weeks! I was delighted. Another day is was a box of tasty chocolates which we shared. Then it was a Starbucks travel mug that was so incredibly "me" along with caramel syrup for the lattes he loves to make. Then there was a slide show of photos of the two of us that played along with a romantic song. He also got me a perfect heart necklace on Etsy which arrived on Saturday just in time for me to enjoy wearing it all weekend. And last, but not least, was the amazing dinner he cooked for me on Saturday night. We started with bread and Johnny Carino-like dipping oil, then we ate salad, and then we had the amazing farfalle and shrimp in a spicy pink sauce that he created. We topped it off (after a break to let everything else settle) with a shared slice of strawberry cheesecake.

Every day of our "week of Valentines" I gave him a card in which I had written about something I appreciate about him. I enjoyed thinking of the things I like about him and trying (though I don't think I quite succeeded) to express them all. On some of the days I gave him a gift in addition to the card. One day I gave him the cut capo he's been admiring, and another day I gave him a new mug filled with goodies, wrapped in red cellophane, and tied with curly ribbon. On Sunday he was playing music in church, and when I left the first service I put one of his favorite treats in the car and tied red and white balloons to the antenna, which he found when he came home after the music for second service was done.

This was our sixth Valentine's Day together. I think they just keep getting better and better.