Reflections on the Teche

A Love Story

Happy Valentine’s Day!

This day is not the biggest celebration in our family.  When the girls were younger, Jeff was in charge of getting them a card and some chocolate.  Now he practices a must-be-present-to-win policy, so only Maggie and I got chocolate this year, Godiva no less.

I count myself blessed, though, in the Valentine’s Day department.  I married my best friend 28.5 years ago.  Who would’ve thought at not quite 21 years old I knew anything about love, much less how to create a lasting relationship?  But I will never forget my mother’s advice (she and my dad celebrated 50 years this past summer.)  She said that the couple that grows together, stays together.  She drew two lines with her hands like the two lanes of a 4-lane highway.  “The two of you travel side by side.”  I believe that is the secret and the gift of my relationship with Jeff.

Last week when Jeff and I were out to dinner, we passed a table where a couple sat on the same side of the booth feeding each other French fries.  Jeff noticed that they had ordered the same entrée.  He said, “We don’t order the same thing.  I like to go kayaking and you like writing.” My Valentine’s card today read “A pinch of you, a dash of me,” underneath a photo of a salt and pepper shaker.  Together we balance each other, compliment each other.  We are different, and that’s OK.  As long as we support each other’s choices, talents, and passions, we will continue to grow together on this life-love road.