Valentine's Day Trials and Tribulations

It never occurred to me that Valentine's Day (or the lead up to the big day) could be so stressful. Sure, it's been alternately exciting and annoying when I was single and pretty low-key as a married lady, but never stressful.

Enter kids. It's dinner time and you realize that you have twenty little cards to personalize with names and stickers (double that for two kids). I'm sure eventually my kids will do this on their own, but right now at ages 5 and 2, they need quite a bit of help and motivation. Then there's the school party and the guilt-inducing sign-up sheet for goodies. So, add baking cookies to the list.

That's how I found myself last night, making dinner, doing Valentines with the kids, and making cookies all at the same time. Things were already exciting and then the kitchen sink clogged and every available spot on the counter became dirty as the dishes piled up and I had to run to the bathroom to wash my hands and an occasional dish or utensil. Add to that the fact that I had started my no-knead bread in the morning but was returning to the original Jim Lahey process that involves baking the bread in a preheated pot. That's how I came to burn the H-E-L-L out of my thumb and several fingers as I picked up the lid, forgetting that it was 475 degrees hot.

Why am I sharing all this? Truly it's not to complain. I always try to keep perspective and count my blessings--which are many.

Rather, I'm writing because of the looks Craig and I kept exchanging throughout the night. The "can you believe this is happening?" looks. Those looks embody that secret club you enter when you have kids. It's part of the reason I wanted to start this blog in the first place. Because if you are blessed to have a pretty sane and stable life otherwise and if these moments don't turn you into a raving lunatic, at many levels you grow. And you have something to look back on and laugh about.

It's an experience that is fun to share. Cheers and Happy Valentine's Day.