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Many American know that millions of Valentine Day cards are exchanged every year. But did you know that some of us decide not to buy our love?

My husband Mark and I decided years ago not to purchase these expensive gimmicks. We believe love shouldn’t be measured by how much money we spend on each other. And there should be no strings attached to our emotions.

Like many couples, we try to spend our currency wisely. Last Sunday we decided to enjoy a nice romantic dinner away from the stove.  And another excuse for a romantic outing was we had a gift card that was burning a hole our pockets. We headed out to enjoy an afternoon at a vacation and RV show. Afterwards we looked forward to a fantastic seafood dinner.

While at the restaurant, I noticed a clear water tank filled with fresh lobsters. My mouth watered. I felt like I had just devoured a succulent piece of fruit. My taste buds went in hyper-drive. It was only mid-afternoon but, we wanted larger portions. So we ordered off the spendy dinner menu. We longed for an abundance of fresh fish to keep us happy and content.

After some warm cheesy biscuits and freshly brewed coffee our order arrived. I scanned my oval platter. My meal consisted of: small butterfly shrimp, limp, yellow broccoli, and thin mushy lobster tail. Mark always orders the walleye dinner. He took the first bite and commented, “My fish tastes fishy.”

Mark has sensitive taste buds. Mine are not. But I can distinguish between great and bad.

We’ve always enjoyed a wonderful experience at these well known restaurants. This time we sat in silence. We knew we’d made a mistake by coming here.

This awkward moment was broken by Mark’s comment, “Did you buy me a Valentine’s Day card?”

I smiled and nodded my head. “I couldn’t resist. I thought about not buying you one but, couldn’t resist the temptation.” Mark only shook his head, “Well I didn’t buy you one. Are you going to be Ok with that?” I smiled and took his hand in mine, “I’ll be fine.” I thought to myself, “I don’t need a mushy card from my husband of 33 years…I’ll be Ok.”

Later that night, Mark spent the entire night in the bathroom.  I felt full of food all night. It was unpleasant to say the least.  It’s a good thing we didn’t spend $50 of our own money on this disastrous meal. Otherwise I’d be telling you a completely different story.
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Joanie Buettgen is “Just another columnist trying out this new stuff.”  She has been published in: Café of Dreams, More.com, Minnesota Moments Magazine, Thankful-Home.tv, Carver County Historical Society, Kansas City BBQ Society, Carver County News, National Barn Alliance, and Ridgeview Medical Center newsletter.

Her memberships include: National Society of Newspaper Columnists, Toastmaster’s, Minnesota Newspaper Association, Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop.

Social Networking - Blog: http://joanie19.wordpress.com, http://twitter.com/joaniebuettgen, www.linkedin/com/in/joaniebuettgen.

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