{My Valentine}

In case you hadn’t heard, tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. It was brought to my attention this morning that this weekend is actually considered Valentine’s Weekend. I had no idea that Cupid actually had his own weekend.



I have to be honest, Jason and I aren’t very big on the whole Valentine’s Day thing. When we were dating, we made a pretty big deal out of it but after we got married, it kind of lost its appeal. Our anniversary is in February and maybe that’s why. We gave up trying to make reservations on that one “special” night. Restaurants are ALWAYS insane! The service is usually not that great and more than likely you end up waiting a long time for your meal. Jason isn’t the type of person who really likes to be packed into a room full of people. Mix all of this together and it doesn’t exactly add up to a romantic night out. To be quite honest, if we are going out on a date, which doesn’t happen all that often because we have three little bodies running around, we want to be able to eat a good meal with good service and we want to be able to enjoy each other’s company. Yeah, I kinda like my husband and I enjoy being able to spend time with him. Pretty crazy, I know!! I should add that I don’t eat chocolate all that often and my title as “Stay At Home Mommy To 3” doesn’t really require me to wear very much jewelry. Flowers are beautiful but I don’t keep them alive long enough to enjoy them. You can see where I am going with this, right?


So now that I have you all convinced that I am not a fan of Valentine’s Day, I can tell you that I really don’t hate it all that much. I actually love celebrating it with the kids. We always do something special for all three of the kids and I always look forward to crafting some sort of box just for the cute little Valentine’s that are passed out at school. This year I only got to help make one (a little sad) and Trav doesn’t like all the girly glittery stuff with ribbons and things. His theme this year was stamps. Not the peel and stick stamps but the stamps that require an ink pad. Yes I’m sure your imagination has taken you exactly to the place where I stood with my son just a few short days ago.


Anyhow, today was the first time in a long time that I missed My Valentine. It was a little unexpected and something that I haven’t quite felt before. The kids and I got up this morning and moved quickly into our normal Sunday morning routine. I have to admit, we’ve gotten really good at getting out of the house and to church by 9 am. Today’s mass was all about Saint Valentine. It was the first time I had heard the entire story. In honor of Saint Valentine, Monsignor paid a special tribute to all of the married couples in the congregation. He asked everyone who was married to stand up. He wanted all of the married “Valentine” couples to hold hands as he went around and blessed their marriage. The couples that were married for over 10 years received a special prayer. During the blessing, my eyes started to tear up. All I could do to hold it together was wrap my hand around Jason’s wedding ring. I held on tight and did my best to imagine myself sitting next to him. The prayer was a bit of a different story. The tears slowly slid down my cheeks as I watched the beautiful couples around me receive the recognition they all deserve.


In just two weeks Jason and I will be celebrating our 12 year wedding anniversary. Pretty incredible if you were to ask me! I have been married to my best friend, my husband, MY JAY for 12 years!! Jason and I were really young when we got married. I was 19 and he was 20. A lot of people were against us getting married because we were so young. There were actually a few bets placed on how long our marriage would last. Most gave us 4 years.


And well, here we are now....

10 Year Anniversary Celebration

"I don't pretend to know what love is for everyone, but I can tell you what it is for me; love is knowing all about someone, and still wanting to be with them more than any other person, love is trusting them enough to tell them everything about yourself, including the things you might be ashamed of, love is feeling comfortable and safe with someone, but still getting weak knees when they walk into a room and smile at you."

To My Jay,

I want you to know that I miss you. I miss waking up next to you. I miss listening to you getting ready for work. I miss our morning coffee routine. I miss waiting for you to come home. I miss sitting next to you on the couch at night. I miss saying goodnight and I miss lying next to you while you watch TV and I read my book.


As I sat in church today, I held on tight to your wedding ring. I wished so very hard that you were next to me. I wanted to be one of the wives who got to hold her Valentine’s hand as Monsignor blessed their marriage of more than 10 years. I was sad but only for a moment. As I looked down at your wedding ring, I was reminded of how very lucky I am to be married to you. You and I have been on an incredible journey together.

Just a few short months ago we stood in that same church and vowed our love to each other before God, our children, and my parents. Our rings were blessed on that day before we slid them on each other’s fingers for the second time just as our marriage was. I want you to know that you were with me today just like you are every day. I missed you today but I miss you every day that you are gone.


Valentine’s Day is tomorrow. We have always celebrated the day as a family. Tomorrow, I will continue our tradition with our children. I have a big surprise planned for them =) I know that we don’t do much for each other on this day, however this year I really missed having My Valentine next to me. I don’t think I have ever officially asked you to ever be my Valentine. So, I am asking you today.


Will you be My Valentine this year and for the rest of our years to come?


I Love You 4-Always & Ever
Shannon