Happy Valentine's Day!

Eric and I had a lovely Valentine's day. It was super low key, but we enjoyed it. I was off work for the day (thanks, boss!) so I spent my morning visiting with my mom at her work. I took her flowers, a card, and some chocolate covered strawberries! She was so excited by my surprise visit and it was nice to catch up with her in person. She looked so cute, as always!

After visiting with my mom, I stopped by Chic-fil-A to get lunch for Eric and I, and then I took it to him at work. He is super swamped right now at work, so he didn't even have time to take a lunch break! I sat in his office with him and ate while he worked and kind of ate-- haha. Then I did a few errands and things before Eric got home that evening.

When I heard Eric's truck pulling into our driveway, I raced to get Louis (our little Maltese) in his bumblebee costume. Why was I putting Louis in his bee costume, you might ask? Well because it was part of my card delivery presentation, of course! (haha!) I got a card for Eric that was "from the dogs", which had a bulldog on the front dressed in a bumblebee costume. When you open the card, it says "Will you BEE my Valentine?" So naturally, I taped the card to the wings of Louis' bee costume so he could run to the front door to greet his dad and give the valentine's day card himself! (Genius, I know.) The card delivery presentation for the card I gave to Eric from myself was much less entertaining-- I just handed it to him. But it was a sweet card, so I know he liked it :)

After the card exchange, we went to the AMC Cinema Suites to watch The Vow and have dinner. It was an absolutely fantastic movie, by the way!

So... in the spirit of Valentine's Day and all things lovey-dovey, I feel compelled to share just how lucky I am to be in the relationship that I'm in. And for those of you out there who are not in relationships, or who are questioning whether your relationship is right for you, maybe this can help guide you. I'm certainly not saying that our relationship is perfect, but it's perfect for us.

• I'm lucky to have a husband that ALWAYS puts my wants and needs before his own.
• I'm lucky to be in a relationship that is BALANCED. Neither one of us "wears the pants". Sure, there are certain issues where one of us can "pull rank", but we have a mutual respect for eachother.
• I'm lucky to be in a relationship where I can be myself and my husband absolutely loves me for that, and vice versa. We don't have to sugar coat our opinions, try not to hurt eachother's feelings, or hide how we really feel about something.
• I'm lucky to be in a relationship where we really do "get" eachother. If I randomly start crying (which is rare-- but it has happened) Eric knows exactly what to do to make me smile. Likewise, if Eric is in a mood (he doesn't cry --ever-- for the record) I always make him talk about it (even if he doesn't want to) because it always makes him feel better.
• I'm lucky to be in a relationship where we have the same priorities and goals. One of us isn't the "hard worker"-- we both work our butts off. Additionally, we have the same views on when we want to raise a family, where we want to be in life by a certain age, how we want to live our life, the kind of people we want to be, etc. etc. etc...
• I'm lucky that my husband really is my best friend. I've heard so many people in relationships (even un-married couples) that say they just need a "break" or time with the guys/girls. While we both certainly have our own friends, we really do love to be together. Neither of us have ever said that we need our "space" or time away with our friends. Not that spending time with friends is unhealthy or bad-- we just genuinely would rather spend time with eachother! Even when I travel to amazing places for work, I miss him constantly. 
• I'm lucky to be in a relationship where we are each proud to be each other's spouse. We don't "poke fun" at one another. If we were ever in a situation where someone was giving one of us a hard time, we are always ready to defend our other half-- even if it's not really necessary. There are some relationships where the wife is always joking about her husband being lazy or not thoughtful... or the husband jokes about how the wife has the key to his ball and chain... or whatever. But I'm glad that in my relationship, we don't like to put each other down-- even if it is "just a joke". 
• I'm lucky to be in a relationship where fighting is not an issue. This doesn't mean we don't fight-- because we definitely do. Eric and I are both super passionate, hot-headed people who are both aggressive and confrontational... so this usually leads to a "fight" about something totally not important. However, the difference between our relationship and all others that I've observed is that our "fights" don't last longer than 10 minutes. Literally. We just can't stay mad at each other. We don't like how it feels, and one of us always feels bad (either for getting mad or for making the other mad). It usually ends with Eric making me laugh, and one of us apologizing for losing our cool. 
• I'm lucky to be in a relationship where acts of kindness are random, and not reserved just for holidays. Maybe this is why Valentine's day is not a big deal to me. If there is something I really want, Eric will get it for me-- no occasion needed. Likewise, if there is something Eric wants, I always encourage him to get it regardless of whether or not there is an occasion for the purchase (I don't go buy things for him randomly because he is the keeper of the finances! haha). It's fun to live a life where exciting things can happen at any time, and not just when it's a holiday.

Well, I'm sure I could go on forever... but that's all I've got for now. If you're not in a relationship, I recommend using those bullets as a guide for what you should look for. If you are in a relationship, hopefully this already applies to you.

I hope you had a Happy Valentine's Day filled with LOVE! But more than anything, I hope you find (or are already in) a relationship where every day feels like Valentine's Day! :)

XO,

B.CANNON