This is not your traditional Valentine's Day post but an observation I made today that I felt I had to share. What I observed actually brought a big smile to my face.
I was out running errands early this morning and while I was in my favorite French discount store (Tar je) I noticed how quiet it was.
Well fairly quiet except for the dozen or so men I nearly ran into as they were feverishly searching certain aisles. Three men, God bless 'em, were going through whatever cards were left over for Valentine's Day. I have to hand it to them though. They didn't just grab what was there and run to the check out counter. They were actually standing there reading them. SCORE: 5 points for that! HINT: in the future... to avoid the "this is all that was left" card set your calendar to remind you to start looking for just the right card right after the Super Bowl!
There were a few grabbing flowers; several were on the candy aisle. I saw one soul with a cute white bear in one hand and flowers in the other. Then there I was, shopping cart loaded with detergent and other cleaning products, yogurt for lunch and more plastic storage bins for my Staging inventory.
Now the big grin came to my face on my drive home. On the side of the road I take to go home there are usually two roadside vendors. There's your usual hot dog vendor, and believe it or not, when I drive by he always has at least one customer. I think it's become kind of a "Cheers" of hot dog stands for I often see 1 or 2 customers who've pulled over and are just sitting around passing the time of day with their Hot Dog Vendor.
Down the way is the flower vendor. He too usually has someone there... buying a bunch of flowers on their way home. But today..... 12 deep...men of all ages.... looking up at the vendor... waiting their turn to purchase their bouquet. Cars parked along the side of the road. I was reminded of little kids waiting their turn at the neighborhood ice cream truck.
I smiled. Was it that sweet touch and thoughtful sentiment that drove these poor souls to do what just doesn't come naturally for them... SHOP.
Or... have we scared the bejabbers out of them and instilled so much fear that they know they dare not set foot in the house tonight unless they're bearing gifts???
I'm not saying what I think... it's probably some of both. And, it really doesn't matter because in the end ladies... we'll get our candy, flowers and another day of being treated like a Queen!!
Happy ValentineTude!!!
Valentine's Day is one of those holidays that really benefits florists, restaurants, Hallmark and Godiva! Hey, I'm always up for any excuse not to have to cook! But unlike Thanksgiving or Christmas, where we include our friends, family (of course) and people we may only know casually but with whom we want to share our good fortune, Valentine's Day has typically been celebrated by couples, or couple-wanna-bees. 
She's doing very well, but I know that besides holidays, nights are particularly hard for her. So after our lunch last week I decided that even though my husband has been gone on a camping trip all weekend and with his blessing, Joannie would not be spending Valentine's Day by herself. My husband will have two old broads as his dates!