Valentines for Two

I forgot, a little, what it's like to have a complete, uninterrupted conversation with my husband. We must have had them all the time before our children came...and we must have had more of them before the children developed radars expert enough to recognize even the slightest shred of an adult conversation. Now, once the adult conversation is detected, they lock on and fire all missiles with intent to kill. Our conversations are shot dead before they even start.

So when my friend offered to take the kids for the evening on Valentines Day, I didn't think too long before I accepted. It didn't matter that Brian wouldn't be getting home until after 7:00 - - - in fact, it was perfect. I dropped the kids off at 5 and had two solid hours to transform the house and make a delicious dinner for two.

I forgot, a little, what it's like to make a dinner without fielding children at the same time. No noise, no fighting, no little ones latched onto my legs so tightly I have to be creative in getting around the kitchen, no supervising each little hand pouring ingredients into the pot. Instead, I turned on some classical music and poured all of my creative juices and energy into one meal.

And guess what? I didn't forget to add the melted butter, or take the bread out on time, or sautee the shrimp and onions together. I didn't forget to crush the raspberries into the bottom of the goblets, and I didn't even forget to pick some of Brian's favorite leaves from the yard to garnish our chocolate mousse. I even remembered to add a salad fork and dessert spoon to our table setting. Maybe my brain is as sharp as it used to be - it's just maxed out most of the time.

And, when Brian got home, we even had a few complete conversations over dinner. No interruptions. And I was reminded, again, just how wonderful he is. I'm not sure how I got so lucky. Really.

Happy Valentines Day!