Well, for those of you who aren't quite as far along in your lives, let me tell you about part of my Valentine's Day, after 19 years of marriage and seven children.
Russ and I went out to eat at a restaurant in Nephi, after he spent a few hours outside fixing chainsaws and I spent a few hours doing my hair. I had sent him an email earlier in the day expressing my feelings for him and attached a song I found that morning that for some reason, really struck a chord with me. It has a gorgeous string orchestration, but the words are what really went deep. It's "Book of Love" by Peter Gabriel.
I know, an emailed Valentine message doesn't seem romantic, but in our hectic lives, the moments we check our email are some of the calmer, quieter moments of the day. Apparently he checked the email before we left for dinner, but he didn't listen to the song or watch the video clip that went with it. I really, really liked the song; for some reason, I thought it would be perfect for us to slow dance to....
We got home from dinner, and I hadn't said anything about the email. He kept saying, "Somethings on your mind. There's something you're not telling me." So perceptive. I finally told him I was hoping he would dance with me to the song I sent him. He promptly took me by the hand and started downstairs. I told the kids, who were watching a movie, not to come downstairs because Dad and I were going to dance. There were reactions of disbelief and laughter.
We went to the computer and watched the song all the way through with video from some movie on Youtube, then Russ turned on the music alone and we danced. It was very sweet. I even cried a little. After it was over, he just kept dancing. I told him the part in the song where it said, "I love it when you sing to me and you can sing me anything" reminded me of him. He took that as his cue, and he began singing to me as he danced with me at the same time.
Pretty soon, Joshua came downstairs, took one look at us, screamed, and ran into his room. Russ was undaunted. Apparently the movie upstairs had ended, and Caleb got on the piano and started playing "Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy." That's a hymn, in case you didn't know. I remarked to Russ, who was still dancing, "It's a little hard to dance to Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy." He didn't care.....he just kept dancing.....and resumed singing. He doesn't know that many songs by heart, but he knows some of the old John Denver stuff, and some cowboy ballads. I couldn't quit smiling!
Hannah came down to get something out of the storage room and glanced briefly in our direction and quickly looked away in feigned ignorance. Caleb came down and walked somberly through to his bedroom. Eventually the alone time was completely shattered by Katie, who wanted Mom, and only Mom, to tuck her in. Russ picked her up and briefly danced with her, and she giggled.
Russ and I went out to eat at a restaurant in Nephi, after he spent a few hours outside fixing chainsaws and I spent a few hours doing my hair. I had sent him an email earlier in the day expressing my feelings for him and attached a song I found that morning that for some reason, really struck a chord with me. It has a gorgeous string orchestration, but the words are what really went deep. It's "Book of Love" by Peter Gabriel.
I know, an emailed Valentine message doesn't seem romantic, but in our hectic lives, the moments we check our email are some of the calmer, quieter moments of the day. Apparently he checked the email before we left for dinner, but he didn't listen to the song or watch the video clip that went with it. I really, really liked the song; for some reason, I thought it would be perfect for us to slow dance to....
We got home from dinner, and I hadn't said anything about the email. He kept saying, "Somethings on your mind. There's something you're not telling me." So perceptive. I finally told him I was hoping he would dance with me to the song I sent him. He promptly took me by the hand and started downstairs. I told the kids, who were watching a movie, not to come downstairs because Dad and I were going to dance. There were reactions of disbelief and laughter.
We went to the computer and watched the song all the way through with video from some movie on Youtube, then Russ turned on the music alone and we danced. It was very sweet. I even cried a little. After it was over, he just kept dancing. I told him the part in the song where it said, "I love it when you sing to me and you can sing me anything" reminded me of him. He took that as his cue, and he began singing to me as he danced with me at the same time.
Pretty soon, Joshua came downstairs, took one look at us, screamed, and ran into his room. Russ was undaunted. Apparently the movie upstairs had ended, and Caleb got on the piano and started playing "Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy." That's a hymn, in case you didn't know. I remarked to Russ, who was still dancing, "It's a little hard to dance to Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy." He didn't care.....he just kept dancing.....and resumed singing. He doesn't know that many songs by heart, but he knows some of the old John Denver stuff, and some cowboy ballads. I couldn't quit smiling!
Hannah came down to get something out of the storage room and glanced briefly in our direction and quickly looked away in feigned ignorance. Caleb came down and walked somberly through to his bedroom. Eventually the alone time was completely shattered by Katie, who wanted Mom, and only Mom, to tuck her in. Russ picked her up and briefly danced with her, and she giggled.
We've been married for 19 years, and things are definitely a little different than they used to be, but it's what's in the heart that counts. We couldn't have asked for a better Valentine's Day....
7 comments:
That is so incredibly sweet! Lucky girl :)
Thanks, Heidi. Sometimes I have to deliberately take the time to realize how lucky I am.
Hello - I very much remember meeting you at Women's Conference last year. Barbara is a beautiful lady with many beautiful sisters. I was a little intimidated being surrounded by all of you -ha ha.
I love your post - SO ROMANTIC! Aren't kids funny in their reactions (when we really know they love seeing their parents "in love").
I did not realize you had 7 children - a big, gorgeous family!
I hope you don't mind if I visit your blog again. Have a Happy Day:D
I think that's awesome! I agree with my mom I loved watching my parents dance even if I acted like I didn't! Sounds like a very good V-Day
I LOVE that wedding picture! Isn't it great to have special days come along that encourage us to take time to contemplate. I'm so glad you had a great Valentine's Day! (I love the kids pictures!)
I enjoyed the story. Todd and I took Heidi with us to a dinner and to a dance. I'm sure she wrote about it on Facebook. It was great fun, and rather a success for Heidi.
Cute kids pictures!
So cute.
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