A Belated Valentine's Celebration....

Valentine's Day!  I know - it's February 19 now.  Many people call Valentine's Day a "Hallmark Holiday," meaning that to them, it is a very commercialized holiday with cards, gifts, candy, roses, etc.
I still think Valentine's Day is one of my very favorite holidays!  I used to deliver flowers for a local flower shop, and loved delivering van-loads of beautiful flowers to happy people.

But my Valentine's Day (last Tuesday) was kinda sad. First, I was sick all week with a weird virus that drained my energy and gave me headaches. Most of all, my husband, Mr. J, was away on business. This was our first Valentine's Day separated from each other in 26 years!  First thing in the morning, I received a cute cell phone Valentine message - one of those that has a picture and a song....and I thought it was from my husband! So I immediately called him to wish him a "Happy Valentine's Day"... OOPS...it turned out that one of my girlfriends from the quilting group had sent that valentine.
The day was a whirlwind, and the Healing Hands Quilting group met at my house. It was a lot of fun, but come evening, I was getting lonely and I missed Mr. J so much. : (   I waited in the hopes that he would call me, and jumped when the phone rang!  (Sigh...it was our daughter...I was glad she called, but...)
By 9:30 p.m. I was getting upset!  When Mr. J finally called, I was really upset, and told him so. He gave me a sincere apology. After all, after 26 years of marriage, what would one expect?  So I was OK after that.

But God has a funny way of knowing what is in my heart, and He works things out behind the scenes--many times without me even asking Him.

So last Thursday, there was a message on the phone for Mr. J.  It was from his doctor. In a very serious tone, the doctor said, "Please call me back at this number. I would like to talk to you about a blood test you took a week ago."  Oh no! What is that about?!?  I called Mr. J, and he immediately called his doctor back, but could only leave a message.  In the meantime, without us saying much to each other, we both became pretty worried that this particular blood test result indicated cancer or something. I couldn't concentrate all night, and neither could Mr. J, apparently.  He had spent some time looking on the web for information.
I prayed and prayed and asked God that my husband would be all right. After all, there was a history of cancer in his family.
FINALLY, my husband got a call from his doctor the next day...and guess what...he had called to let my husband know some GOOD NEWS... that his PSA level went down to normal! Ha Ha! WHEW! I worried for nothing! Again, I realized just how much I love my husband and what he means to me. I was so relieved!

Yesterday, very spontaneously, we went out to one of our favorite Chinese restaurants, Little Hong Kong, in El Cerrito. It's not a fancy restaurant by any means, but the food is terrific.
 We had an especially good time. The owner, Richard, was there, and we chatted for a few minutes reminiscing about the 25-plus years we had been going there. We ordered Peking duck, which was very moist, with crispy skin, and not salty--with yummy Chinese buns. And we had fried rice and delicious greens.
After that we went home and enjoyed a video of a recent Motown concert at the White House. (see video online.) The music and program was really, really good! We had a fancy dessert, and a relaxing evening.

Most of all, I realized once again, that Valentine's Day is all about the heart. I think we had one our the best Valentine's celebrations ever! Nothing fancy--very romantic--the simple things are the best! : )