Jeff and I debated what we would do for dinner this Valentine's Day. In past years we've really enjoyed a nice dinner out on the town. This year, with a toddler in our brood, we didn't think that an expensive dinner would go in our favor. And we wanted Luke to be a part of our Valentine's Day evening, so we didn't get a sitter. Until about 3:30 this afternoon we thought we'd go to The Keg, one of our favorite steakhouses. But when it became apparent on the way home from storytime that Luke was not going to go down for a nap, we stopped off at the grocery store and went to plan "B," or cooking dinner at home.
Then it dawned on me that dinner at home was our tradition for years. I think we stopped one year during my doctoral program when I had class on Valentine's Day.
Disclaimer: I call this post "Three Forks" because we set the table so that each of us had, well, three forks, and not because we made an all-out effort to emulate the famous restaurant. We did get semi-fancy. We had wine. We used cloth napkins. We had multiple (six) courses, though I made no real effort to follow protocol. I concocted the plan at 3:30, after all. In fact, here's our menu:
Because time was short, I channeled Sandra Lee and went with a semi-homemade plan. It worked! The foods tasted great together, and with very small portion sizes we were able to enjoy the evening without too much guilt. The best part of the evening? When Luke got fussy he went to play. We always forget we have our formal dining room, so eating at the dining room table was like going to a restaurant we never visit.
Here's Luke looking a little restless (while Mommy and Daddy look tired, but as in love as we were when we moved to Boston together ten years ago this week) and proving he's not quite ready for a "fancy" restaurant (ummm...feet off the table!):
Finally, here's a reminder that (a) we're getting older, (b) life has gotten much more "nuanced" over the years, and (c) even though we balk at the commercialized holiday, Jeff and I still look forward to opportunities to show each other how much we love each other. Here's a picture of tonight AND a picture I dug up from our second Valentine's together in our tiny apartment in San Angelo. I do wish I had that body back, but I am happy for the time Jeff and I have enjoyed together, the things I've learned, and, most importantly, the adorable little guy eager to celebrate with his mommy and daddy.
No comments:
Post a Comment