Tuesday, February 14, 2012

we survived a broken tradition...V-Day 2012

Once upon a time there was a sixteen year old girl who was about to celebrate her 1st Valentine's Day with a special boy.

She wore a navy blue dress, with heeled Mary Jane shoes. Curls bounced down her back despite the rainy forecast. She was not going to let rain spoil her 1st real Valentine's Day.

And as she and her boyfriend of a couple of months strolled hand in hand under an umbrella towards the end of the pier to get clam chowder, she felt giddy. But, she didn't show it because she was playing it cool.

When the young couple approached the restaurant, they realized that it had been closed. Permantly. They stood there in disbelief as the rain tapped gently on their shared umbrella. Disappointment over the fact that their vision of clam chowder in sourdough bowls would not become a reality washed over them.

However, being that they were more thrilled to celebrate their 1st Valentine's Day together than about clam chowder,the couple walked back to the car, found a random restaurant, and went with it.

17 years later, that couple still loves walking on the pier and eating clam chowder, although we skip the bread bowls. Dang carb avoiding and getting older.

This year, Kevin and I postponed our celebration due to our heavy work schedules and a house full of sick peeps, but we could not go without making it special for the boys.

Nothing over the top.

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Just a simple way to say "I love you."

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There is no better way to say "I love you" to my boys than with Legos.

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Legos are their love language.

Photobucket

This is the 1st year I didn't go all out with a Valentine's breakfast. I broke a tradition. If you have been following along for a while, you know I am freak for traditions.

But a girl has to do what a girl has to do. Returning to teaching (which I am loving) means that I cannot do it all. Not that I could before either. I was just in denial over it before. Now it is confirmed.

I was bummed. I was longing for the heart shaped pancakes, but not one of my boys asked me about them.

They were busy opening their mailboxes, reading their notes, and building mini-figures. Their hearts were content.

Mine was too.

I hope you each had a wonderful Valentine's Day! Did you do anything special?

Much love,
Katie

25 comments:

Greta said...

Katie, I always do breakfast too,
And I wanted to this year too.
But I was doing a party at 10 and couldn't swing it without going totlly crazy.
So I didn't.
And the kids were fine.
Next year!
Love from,
Greta

... said...

Ha ha "legos is their love language" :) Love it

Aw love that story about your first Valentines Day with your husband...so sweet you still have that tradition!

erin said...

looks like a hearty breakfast should be on your menu this saturday! may even be a bigger surprise it not being on a v-day in the craze of a busy school morning!

your clam chowder 1st v-day story was just the sweetest!

susan jakovina said...

What a sweet idea!
And don't be too hard on yourself {I should talk}...it's hard to do it all.
My boy loves lego too! They ended up with heart shaped chocolates only. Not much excitement around here this year. Mama's tired.

Marie said...

yes!

must be a little guy thing, cause legos are definitely my boys love language!

so happy that you are loving teaching again:) so proud of you for being flexible and rollin along with the changes.

Genn said...

legos is their love language... hahaha!

that was sweet. and of course, they didn't even notice the lack of heart shaped pancakes.

hang in there. hope you guys settle into this new normal soon.

happy vday.

Nay said...

legos are my son's love language too...sweet!

Kelly said...

i miss when my boys' love language was legos. now it's more like xbox and airsoft. AYE!
glad you had was good day broken traditions and all!
xxO

Janna said...

bahaha "legos are their love language" FUNNY!!! I think they'll remember their "non-traditional" V-day very fondly, and that's coming from the mom who wings it each year for V-day.

Anonymous said...

I love their love language. so cute. and that is such a sweet story!

Charla Liedahl said...

What a sweet story! Our V-Day was low-key, too. My favorite V-Day was in 2004...when we got engaged!

Alyson @Vintage Sunshine said...

Such a sweet story. I'm all about tradition too, but sometimes it's so hard to even try to do it all. Good for you for being able to let go. And, what matters is that the boys still had a great day and were happy, right? Love this post.

Brooke said...

Hi from 310 grae place. Thanks for following my blog fellow teacher have to stick together. Since I have 2 little ones I am very fortunate to be able to teach first grade part time and am loving it. Love your blog, can't wait to read more. I would love for you to link up on Saturday with 2nd Glance Saturday!

Betsi* said...

Legos are my boys' love language too! We also had to skip a lot of things yesterday as baby Luke was sick and wouldn't let me do anything but hold him. At 7pm last night I fished the boys' valentine presents out of the shopping bag and handed them out. And just like your boys, they didn't even question it.

Erin said...

You will definitely see changes as you enter this new season of life. Some you appreciate, and some you find especially difficult. But in those difficult moments, look back on God's guiding hand of faithfulness to get you where you are right now. His purposes and plans are always perfect(even if they don't include heart shaped pancakes). I'm so glad to hear you are enjoying your new job (but not enough to try my own hand at it...yet!).

Breakfast at the Zemke's said...

What an adorable idea for the little ones. I bet they just loved it!

Allyssa
breakfastatthezemkes.blogspot.com

Karrie said...

I love the mailboxes! What a sweet idea! I smell a new tradition!

The Olive Tree Blog said...

sweet story! ;) we kind of go crazy on v-day more so now that we have kids...loves of treats ;)

Sara @ Our Life Blog said...

such a sweet story!! love the mailboxes!! our valentine's day didn't quite go as planned either. but the boys didn't care and daddy surprised them with a toy when he got home from work. :D

Melissa said...

What a cute NEW tradition! Your boys are so lucky to have such a good mama!

Laurie J said...

legos is the way to go, smart mama! happy belated v.day. enjoy the weekend!
<3

Linda Z said...

Such a sweet story... love it!! :) I've been with my Valentine since I was 18... 22 years! We can't eat bread either... darn gluten issues!

I should have though of the Lego valentine!! Next year! :)

My dad & dad took the whole family to a teppan grill for a Valentine date! So sweet of them.

grey rose (they/them) said...

love the legos! and you can do breakfast next year:) love you, dearest! xo

nic said...

nutella is my love language. :)

my parents and brothers flew in on valentine's day, so i'm sure i did some extra cleaning that morning. but what a sweet gift--unexpected company of people dear to my heart.

love your mailboxes!

Flor said...

your boys would get along well with my little boy as they share the same love language - legos lol :)
i'm SO glad to hear you are loving your job! what a big relief. and take it easy.. it will take you some time to adjust to a new routin :) xo