Belated Valentine

Punam and I didn't get a chance to do anything for Valentines day last week so we celebrated tonight. We saw Beautiful Creatures(review to come) which both of us have been looking forward to and then went to my favorite place to get steak in Chicago Las Tablas. The steak is seasoned and sauced to perfection and each entree comes with potato, yucca, and fried plantain. Delicious. All in all it was a great evening.

I never put much stock in anniversaries or Valentines day. I always feel weird if there is a built in societal expectation for a holiday or celebration: this needs to be special and if it's not it's a failure(see also New Years Eve). It feels like a lot of pressure with little chance at success. But I realized what it's really about is taking a time out, spending time with the one you love, and in no uncertain terms letting them know you love them. Going out, doing something you don't normally do, breaking the routine. If you extricate yourself from the commercial hype you're free to enjoy yourself.

The best gifts are the unexpected ones, the best dates are the spontaneous ones. But sometimes we all need a gentle reminder to get out of our heads, to get out of our own lives, and focus on that special someone.

Periodically we need to be reminded to be unexpected and spontaneous.