Ah, the holiday of love.  In my house Valentine’s Day is like a War of the Roses versus the Not Roses.  My husband can’t stand Valentine’s Day.  To him it is a Hallmark holiday made up to encourage consumerism.  After all, he can tell me any day and every day that he loves me.  I, of course, love it because I am a romantic gal and I look forward to my husband being forced to tell me all day on that day that he loves me.

That War has been ensuing since we’ve known each other and we’ve came to reconciliation on that front years ago.  However, now, as a parent, I have a newfound love and appreciation for Cupid’s holiday.  As parents it is so easy to forget about your spouse and partner.  Kids demand time and energy – requiring pretty much all you have to give.  So when it’s lights out and bedtime for the kiddos, who has energy to spend time focused on yet another person?  When the house is finally quiet you just want time to recharge your own battery.

So the partner gets put on the back burner, right?  Well, not this February!  Parents, let’s use Valentine’s Day as the excuse and the reason to remind your partner how much you love and appreciate them.  Sure, they might drive you batty because they can’t seem to hear the very loud buzzing of the dryer and you ended up folding all the clothes AGAIN, but, really, they have to be great, too.  Didn’t you start a family with them?  Your spouse has to be OK.

Tips and tricks for romancing as a busy parent?  You got me.  What do you guys do to make it work?  I am a big fan of a nice, beautiful, candlelight dinner at home, which we cook together while drinking wine.  TV stays off and we talk.  Alternatively, I’d be a fan of going out and being pampered to a nice meal with my husband, provided it’s not on Valentine’s Night itself.  Too many others out there are fighting for the same over-priced fixed menu meal.  (Although a lot of drop-In childcare centers are having extended holiday hours to accommodate romantic meals out, so there is that to consider if you can’t secure a sitter.)  But what about a Valentine’s night out the day after Valentine’s?

Get a card for your significant other.  Even if you think you tell them all the time how much you love them and how great they are, everyone deserves to hear it one more time.  Putting it in writing goes even further.  

Whatever you do, don’t forego the holiday entirely.  And don’t make it just about the kids’ and their heart crafts, Valentine’s for school, and pink cupcakes.  Remember that person you live with who is the other half of you and your kids.  Because when the kids leave home someday, that person is still going to be there.

Let me know how you and your partner make romance happen at home, too, because my husband and I are still trying to figure it out….

Related Stories
‹
DPAC's Lord of the Dance
Dancing has never been my forte. For me, just being able to sway to the beat could be considered an accomplishment. So naturally, I’m amazed by anyone who can not only dance, but is so good they can entertain other people! With that in mind, the Durham Performing Arts Center’s Lord of the Dance created […]
A Refresher Course on Freshening Up
Did you know that most of the dirt and germs we come in contact with on a daily basis get stuck under our fingernails and cuticles? This makes sense because we use our fingertips to touch objects all day long, including things others may have contaminated with the norovirus or other communicable diseases. So, when […]
Chopping Broccoli
The evenings and early mornings are beginning to feel crisp so my mind has turned to gardening in the fall. Upon the advice of my mother, I just planted broccoli, lettuce and cabbage. I also saw collards, cauliflower and kale for sale at my local garden center. Before planting them I mixed chicken droppings in […]
A New Puppy
I sit here at my desk, trying to focus on typing an intelligent and witty column.  Instead, I find myself distracted every few minutes by the little movements and noises of Poppy, the adorable 3-pound wonder fast asleep on my lap.  I ponder, as I often do, how it is that I got myself into […]
Eating While Parenting
So I had my baby! That’s right, about 1 month ago I took a hiatus from most of my writing to engage in the miracles of miracles and give birth. Things went great and we’re all settled in now with a newborn and a 2 ½ year old. And sure, we don’t sleep a lot. […]
How to Better Photograph Your Family- Tip Eight
This is the eighth in an eight-part series created for the amateur family photographer. These tips are simple, quick things you can do to vastly improve the photos you take. TIP 8: DON’T FORGET ABOUT YOU As the self-designated family photographer you have been faithfully recording your family’s history for years. But are you in […]
Help! Help! I'm Being Depressed!
For those who love Monty Python’s and the Holy Grail as much as I do, you will notice that this is a modification on the famous dialogue between the King Arthur, ruler of the Britons, and Dennis, the peasant who did not vote for King Arthur. Dennis is not in favor of the dictatorship which […]
No 2 Pencils, Fall, and Fun
Ah, my son started preschool for the first time this month.  It’s been an emotional time for me (not helped by the fact that I am also in my third trimester of pregnancy with my 2nd, and have some hormones to contend with, too).  But watching him run into his new classroom, with his new […]
Welcome from C.Hill Mom
Hello there Chapelboro folks.  I am so pleased to be writing to you over here.  You see, over at my other blog I have created a voice telling parents where to take their kids, restaurants great for children, and family friendly activities all over the Triangle.  And I love that blog.  First, who doesn’t love […]
Royal Wedding Fever...
You know you’ve got it. Even if you don’t have the fever, you know that you’ll be one of the billion people across the world viewing what is hyped to be the social event of the century. Thanks to modern technology we don’t have to get up at the pre-dawn hour of 4:00 a.m. Friday […]
›