valentine's day

We have quite the collection of pictures of the dogs doing random things. I just love this one though, it looks like the two of them are dancing and Oliver is striking some dramatic pose.

So Valentine's day is now technically over I guess. I am still waiting for Jesse to get home from work. I remember how we used to try to make a big deal out of the day. A few years back we decided we had to do something, so we ventured out with the intention to have dinner somewhere. It turned into a nightmare of overcrowded restaurants and short tempers, and ultimately an uncomfortable dinner with a table full of strangers at a Japanese place after a 45 minute wait. Yeah. The next year we made a nice dinner at home. Last year, we had an even lower-key dinner in our room (because we had roommates at the time). This year? It barely registered that it was happening, honestly. It all seems so trivial. Not that we are wallowing in sadness or anything. The days are brighter and we carry on like normal, but we are not the same people we were. The last six weeks have changed us profoundly, in ways we could not have imagined were possible. Perhaps most importantly, we have learned that our love is strong, that in the darkest of times, it only burns brighter, becoming the light that guides us through. And even though we may not be buying heart-shaped balloons, that is certainly something worth celebrating.