my valentine

I thought I’d do something really special for Shaun today, Valentine’s Day, so at lunch I leaned across the table and whispered discreetly, “I just wanted you to know that after lunch I’m going home…to do my taxes.” Hey, it might not been sexy but boy did it bring a smile to his face! So I’ll have to write fast. I don’t want blogging to make a liar out of me.

My CD player has gone on strike recently and I am now forced to listen to random radio stations while driving. Today, apparently, is good music day for free radio - songs about love and romance or at least hooking up - classics like “Love Shack,” and “Pour Some Sugar on Me” (Shaun’s favorite). Inexplicably, “Gone to Carolina in My Mind” made it into the Valentine’s Day rotation. I am thankful for that. Actually, I am thankful for any time a James Taylor song makes it into the rotation. He’s one of my favorites. Someone once told me they met him and he was actually quite strange. I don’t think I liked hearing that at the time but it makes sense to me now. I think creativity requires a certain measure of insanity. Anyway, hearing James Taylor made me think of George Harrison and that made me think of what I consider his finest work, “Something.” So I indulged in a little YouTube whilst preparing my taxes; that is to say, I played the video several times while shuffling papers around. I am replaying it even now - for inspiration, and also because it is a really beautiful song. One of my favorite Beatles tunes – and that’s saying a lot.

Hearing this song, and thinking about how much I like it, I started wondering how incredible it would be if Shaun and I could somehow work it into our 25th anniversary ceremony or something. I know it’s a few years down the road but a girl can dream, can’t she? Suddenly reality crept in - the reality that Shaun has no idea that this is one of my favorite songs…the reality that if, in fact, he does know that it is one of my favorite songs he would probably not remember it on such an occasion…and the ultimate reality that (gasp!) he probably doesn’t like ANY Beatles songs anyway!

I came away from my sudden awakening thinking once again, “How could I have married someone so different!” But then I had to laugh. I laugh because the supreme reality is that I simply could not navigate life without my Shaun, my wonderful, responsible, Type A, fun-loving, bill-paying, fearless, confrontation-handling Shaun, who would, if given the opportunity, choose Def Leppard over The Beatles in a heartbeat. Yes, we are different but oh, how I love him!

Now, it’s time to do some taxes.

Happy Valentine’s Day.