Valentine Surprise

Surprisingly, this past weekend turned into a very nice Valentine's celebration. I thought Valentine's weekend was going to consist of me accompanying a friend on a trip to South Dakota Saturday morning through Sunday afternoon, a quick dinner with my husband Sunday night (and possibly my daughter since babysitters are scarce then), nannying Monday morning (which I usually don't do on Mondays) while my husband watched a little boy from our church for me (which I usually do on Mondays), class Monday night, and trying to write a paper in there somewhere. Whew!

But...

I found out on Tuesday that we would not be taking the trip to S. Dakota after all.

And then...

I found out on Friday that I would not be needed to nanny on Monday.

Those were enough changes to our schedule to get me all excited and thinking that I was going to plan a surprise get-away for my husband.

Well, you don't usually get released from two major duties like that in a row, so you've got to take advantage of that when you can.

What I failed to think about was that it wasn't going to be a walk in the park getting this little idea of mine together.

The first thing I had to do was find an over-night sitter. I tried calling my sister, even though I knew that she probably would have made plans with her husband for that night, plus her daughter would have school the next day. But Surprise! She was free to watch Allika and her daughter was out of school for President's Day. Yay!

Now, I had to make reservations at a Bed and Breakfast the Saturday before Valentine's Day. Yeah right! The first few places I tried to reserve were full. I finally found a room, and it was even less expensive than I thought it would be. It was in a historical building, furnished with antiques, and containing a jacuzzi tub. I was so happy!

I wasn't able to make reservations at the Melting Pot, which is where I really, really wanted to go, but I got in at Fogo De Chao. That's a really neat experience, too.

All I had left to do (I thought) was to keep it a secret from Van. That didn't happen too well. Thanks to a seven-year-old daughter and a husband who had to go and try to make his own Valentine's plans for me, he found out that I was planning a surprise, over-night get-away. I was still able to keep the destination a secret, though.

You are not going to believe this, but I totally forgot all about the little boy we were supposed to watch on Monday. After I had made all these plans and was starting to get really excited about the way everything was falling into place on such short notice, I suddenly remembered.

Now what?

I couldn't cancel reservations without losing money because it was less than 24 hours now.

I knew it was my own fault for forgetting, and I had nothing more to do than chin up, be responsible, and let the consequences fall where they may.

I decided to call and see if there was any way it would even be possible for me to be gone Monday morning. It was worth a try.

Lo and behold! Her kids were out of school on Monday, so they would be able to stay with him during the morning and I would come pick him up when we were done with our little excursion.

Phew! Now we were all set.

Nope.

It wasn't until Sunday morning that I remembered that I needed to find someone to watch our dog. She has to take two pills a day or she will have seizures, so it was very important that I find someone to take care of her. A couple from our church graciously agreed to keep her at the very last minute.

The final thing I had to make sure was done before we left was write my paper. It was due by class time Monday night and I wouldn't have much time to write it between coming home and watching the little boy.

Thankfully, I got it written.

After all that scurrying around and stressing out, we had a wonderful, marvelous, phenomenal, and amazing time together. We played games, did some antique shopping, discovered a great new Mexican restaurant (of which we are connoisseurs), watched some of the winter Olympics, enjoyed the hot tub, tried a new culinary experience at Fogo De Chao, and just had fun visiting with each other. It was a much-needed and hard-to-come-by reprieve from all the hustle and bustle of our crazy lives.

I would really recommend a little time away for every married couple. If you say you are just too busy to make it happen, that probably means it's imperative that you do.

Eleven Years and Counting

Here we are. You and me. The same two lovers who pledged our lives to each other with stars in our eyes and big dreams in our hearts.

And while the years have seen some of those dreams come true, these years have also opened our eyes to the reality that marriage takes work, patience, and the kind of love that stays true, no matter what.

Here we are. You and me. Celebrating another year of loving and living and learning. Another year of working to make this life together the best it can be.

And I just want you to know that I believe in us. I believe in our love, and I believe in the strength and the beauty that come from sharing life's joys and weathering its storms...together.

You are my love, and when I pledged my life to you, I said forever...

I still do.

(This was the card I gave Van today for our Anniversary. I couldn't have said it better...I'm so in love with him!)

Saint Van

Today was my first day out of isolation. This morning Allika said, "Momma gets to act normal today."

So many things I could say about that.

I wish I had taken a picture of my little radioactive corner. Once I touched something, it became radioactive and couldn't leave the area I was in, so I was rapidly being taken over by dishes, laundry, trash, etc. It was good to get it all out of here today.

Allika came home Sunday night. We still had 3 days of "limited contact." She did really well, considering, but didn't like it one bit.

Our little doggy couldn't understand what was going on, either. We had to keep her in Allika's room because she would come straight to me if she was allowed out. It made it worse for her the nights that Allika was gone. She is happily stretched out beside me right now as I type.

Poor Van. Bless his heart. He had to do everything. It was hard for me to watch him running around like a chicken with its head cut off while I was perfectly capable of helping but couldn't. He got so stressed out. He had to take care of his normal duties plus cook, clean, take care of Allika and the dog, run errands, etc. I remember one time when he made breakfast, served me, fed Allika and got her ready for the day, started her schoolwork while he did dishes and cleaned up, worked with her until she was done, immediately started cooking lunch, fed me and her, didn't even have time to eat because he had to make some time-sensitive calls, cleaned up after lunch, and had to take care of other responsibilities with his job while trying to keep Allika occupied and away from me. The whole time, I'm just sitting in my corner reading a book.

Someday I will make a confession about the awful way I added to his stress by insisting he butter my toast as soon as it comes out of the toaster instead of waiting until it got cold.

I know. Ridiculous. It was not one of my proudest moments.

I did get rather cross sometimes sitting there, doing nothing. No excuses. Just keepin' it real here.

I got quite a bit of my booklist read. Do you know what that means? Lots of material floating around in my brain that has to go somewhere. And what better place than here with all of you, my lovely friends?

Van laughs when I read a book. It's probably a good thing I don't read more than I do. I have to share every profound thing I read with him. When I finish a book, I exclaim profusely over its goodness and insist that he read it, as well. This is because the book is making inroads into my thought processes and I want us to discuss these things and be on the same page together. It's relational. I do the same thing with my food.

"You've got to try this!!"

"I don't want to."

"Please just take a bite?"

"Tani, I'm fine with what I ordered."

"But you don't know what you're missing. It would mean so much to me if you would just try it."

He usually relents. Then, much to his chagrin, I like to try his, too.

Life is all about sharing and experiencing things together.

Raise your hand if you think Van's a saint.

Still the One

Allika was gone on Father's Day, and since Van isn't my daddy, we decided to wait to observe it. Well, one thing has led to another over the last few weeks, and we haven't gotten a chance to celebrate until this Sunday.

I was trying to do something really special for Van because he has been such a wonderful husband and father, especially over the last few months. He's really picked up the slack for me, and I haven't always been the most easiest person to live with.

I thought a hot air balloon ride over the St. Croix Valley would be perfect. We have both really wanted to do that, and I had decided that when I got through all of this cancer stuff, I was going to do the things I had always thought would be fun. There's only one little problem with that valiant resolution. It's called $800 dollars.

So, I set my sights a little lower and reserved a spot on a dinner cruise down the St. Croix River. I think we may have even kept it a secret which is very difficult for Allika to do.

Here are some pictures.


The Boat


Allika and Her Daddy


The Jazz Band that serenaded us throughout our ride


Van and Allika waiting for dinner. Wish I had taken pictures of the spread. It was so delicious.


The Polowchaks


The Scenery

After the boat ride, we had another little surprise up our sleeves. It wasn't anything big, but it's something we've never done before and have always wanted to try. We went to a drive-in movie. What a phenomenon! I never realized how much fun those were. Of course, we didn't know you were supposed to bring your grill, lawn chairs, footballs, frisbees, soccer balls, etc. It was one big old huge tailgating party. We got there early since the movie wasn't starting until dark, so we had plenty of time to walk around. Allika climbed several trees and did some exploring while I snapped a few photos.


Such a neat place


Our Motorcycle Babe


Two hours before the movie...Filling up fast


Climbing trees while we waited


Waiting for Ice Age 3

To top the evening off, we gave Van a gift certificate to Half-Price Books (his favorite book store) and a recycled Father's Day card which I had thrown at him on Father's Day. This time, however, I had actually signed it and handed it to him nicely. I suppose I shall have to explain.

Like I said, back in June we had decided not to do anything for Father's Day, but I didn't want to let the day go by without even acknowledging Van, so I bought him one of those musical cards that played "Still the One." Well, I spent more money on more stuff, too, and when I got home, there was a discussion about the spending of the money. For the record, he was right and I was wrong. Of course, that is not usually the case, but this time, it was.

Anyway, the disagreement ended with me throwing the card at him and following that with the receipt so he could return it and get the money back.(I can be very vicious when I throw paper, people. Okay?)

So, he opens the card to hear this: "You're still the one I run to, the one that I belong to, you're still the one I want for life. You're still the one that I love, the only one I dream of, you're still the one I kiss good night."

He kept the card without a signature and threw away the receipt.

And that, my friends, is why I gave him the same card again, only this time I signed it and wrote something special.

And thus ended our celebration of Father's Day. I love you, Van. You're still the one.