My Little Valentine's Day Photo...

Last Friday, I thought I'd inject a bit of humor with my Pic Of The Day. While it seemed everyone on social media was posting pictures of floral arrangements, boxes of chocolates, and Valentine's Day cards, I snapped a couple of pictures of a loaded dishwasher.

Don't know if it hit its mark.

And, to be honest, I hesitated a bit before posting the picture, and I worked on the caption over and over in my mind before I settled on:

This Valentine's Day, may I suggest something a little more practical...and cheaper than both flowers and/or chocolate.

I wanted the picture to be something fun, something light. Then I started to wonder if it would be taken the wrong way. I mean, was doing the dishes supposed to be some "gift" to my spouse, like that's her job? Because, doing the dishes is not her job, nor is it my job--it's our job, or the kids job. It's something that needs to be done.

I guess I was trying to say that instead of going out and buying stuff, why not do something nice for your significant other--not necessarily dishes--but something, anything. There's so many ways to help and serve, all you have to do is look around. There's an old saying that a wife loves a man with dishpan hands. Sure, it's dated (and sexist...), but the underlying sentiment is the same--do nice things for each other, be it flowers, chocolate, cards...

Or dishes.

It's Our Wedding Anniversary, And I Got My Wife...A Clean Sink

We met, started dating, got engaged, then married all in 1992. Today marks our twenty-seventh anniversary. What did I get my wife? Clean dishes.

Now, I don't want to give you the wrong impression. Doing the dishes is not her job. We split those responsibilities. Dishes have always been a tough one for us. But we may have found a breakthrough. I've found that after a ten-hour work shift, doing dishes isn't that bad. It's nice to be able to do something physical after sitting all day, even though it's just dishes. 

Maybe we're different. Maybe we're like other couples. We don't forget our anniversary, but we also don't celebrate like other couples, or at least, the couples who post anniversary activities on social media. Perhaps the way we celebrate wouldn't work for other people, but it's worked for us. Tonight, we didn't go anywhere--I had to work. Normally, we go out for a nice meal at a restaurant. Again, had to work, plus it's Sunday. We'll go another night.

There's many ways to show appreciation, to celebrate. For us, being together works. But for today, doing a couple of loads of dishes was my gift. Happy anniversary, babe! Sure do love you!