On the eve of Valentine's Day

I love this picture of Tim and I. We woke up early on our lake cottage vacation. Maggie came over to us, with the camera and took our picture.

The kids and I on vacation alone in Spain. We had a lot of fun on our vacations, just the 3 of us, traveling in Europe.

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. Today, I spent the whole day getting ready for the big holiday party that I'll have in my kindergarten classroom. I just addressed the last of my valentine cards for my students, and my own kids are all set. I even bought a cute little Valentine's card for Tim, and after I drop my kids off at their German class tomorrow, I'll walk downtown Saratoga and buy them little treats.

I have felt so fortunate in love. Tim and I have been married for 16 years, and he's truly my best friend, and a man who loves me for me. I am so grateful for the man that I picked to marry; he is a romantic man everyday, not just on Valentine's. He surprises me with breakfast in bed on weekend mornings, brings me home ice cream when he knows I'm had a rough day, massages my back, and holds my hand when we take walks or when we drive in the car. He proposed marriage to me at Rockefeller Center, after telling me that where ever life took us, we could always see Rockefeller from anywhere in the world on TV. His original proposal was supposed to happen earlier that afternoon, while we were in the audience at the David Letterman show, but I guess David Letterman never got the letter Tim wrote to him, begging him to propose on national TV. Now that's romantic!

I love that my son has such a great role model for a father. My son is always wonderful to me, just like his dad. He's going to make some woman really happy. He's so thoughtful and always wants to help me- And my daughter loves to spend one-on-one time with me, and I treasure these times together. She told me a month or so ago, that I was her best friend. I fought back tears, and gave her the biggest hug.

A couple weeks ago, I was sent home from work with a bad headache. My mom picked up my kids for me from school. She dropped them off in the driveway, and the kids let themselves in. I was upstairs, sleeping off the pain in my head. They surprised me, and made me my favorite hot apple tea, and brought it to me in bed. It was so sweet. They watched me drink it, as they laid on my bed, gazing at me, and hoping that I was feeling better. My kids have learned such generous actions by watching the love between Tim and I.

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, and I feel so lucky in love.