Be Mine

Hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's Day yesterday! Mine was full of ups and downs (I'd say my blog title was especially pertinent), but luckily the day evened out ok in the end. We had a very busy weekend with lots of traveling and a few high-stress moments, but yesterday I had the day off work so Dan and I were able to sleep in a little bit. We went out to a great breakfast at one of our favorite little local spots and stuffed ourselves with eggs, hash browns, ham (for Dan), and toast (for me). Then we headed over to my grandfather's to get ready for my grandmother's memorial service. It's a long and relatively inconsequential story as to why we waited so long and why we decided to hold it on Valentine's Day... in the beginning it seemed like it was such a long time away, but there it was on the calendar yesterday, staring me in the face. Luckily Dan has Mondays off, so he was able to be there with me. It turned out to be a gorgeous and very short service -- a few songs, a few readings (one of which I read and through sheer force of will and a lot of luck did not cry during), and a few stories about my amazing grandmother. It was quick, celebratory, and uplifting: exactly what she would have wanted. Over 200 people came, and it was so nice to greet her friends and hear their kind words about how much they missed her and how carefully they were planning to keep an eye on my grandfather for all of us. The two of them have an incredible amount of wonderful friends.
Dan and I were exhausted by the time we left and since we had enjoyed a really great dinner out with our friends Sunday evening, we decided to grab takeout and head home for a quiet evening in. We exchanged gifts, and boy was I spoiled this year: Dan got me a nice new TV for our bedroom (to make the nights that he's gone a little less quiet), new speakers for our big TV, a few DVDs, and the promise of a pair of concert tickets.... I'm still deciding which one! Oh and the most adorable stuffed elephant (that he vehemently insisted I name "Horton." Sometimes we are only 5 years old.) It's been so long since I had a TV in the bedroom, and I am ridiculously excited to get home tonight, curl up in bed (with Horton), and watch something particularly girly.
Lest you think that I received all that great stuff and gave nothing in return, I have to tell you that Dan also got some pretty awesome gifts, including Godiva chocolate strawberries, a self-filtering water bottle, and the promise of a few nights at a great local bed and breakfast (except I've found several and have to decide which one) before he deploys. Actually, I'm as excited about that as he is. I am so ready to get away for a few days!
This week is another busy one, full of family dinners, long days at work, a concert tomorrow night, and the state wrestling match this Friday and Saturday. As much as I love keeping busy during the week, I am emotionally drained from this weekend and so ready for next Sunday, when things slow down. I'm really grateful to have another long weekend coming up too!

   Love,

    Meg