Play by Play of My Valentine’s Date

Friday Evening

5:00 p.m. I send humorous friend a Direct Message on Twitter. “I’m wearing old man socks under my sexy boots on our date tonight.”

5:30 p.m. Husband returns home and helps pile kids in car to take to church.

6:00 p.m. Drop girls off at church (where they are fed and entertained—a cool ministry our church offers once a month…we certainly appreciate it).

6:15 p.m. Arrive at fun Italian restaurant (two steps up from an Applebee’s. One step down from a place where you pay out the nose).

6:18 p.m. Kindly ask to be reseated. Families and crawling children every which direction. Craved a little more ambiance and shall we say privacy for our Valentine’s dinner.

6:20 p.m. Reseated and settled into conversation with my man.

6:40 p.m. Devouring my lobster ravioli. Discussing where we’d go on pretend vacation and real one. We come up with Greece and camping in the White Mountains respectively.

7:00 p.m. Still yapping away comfortably. Launch into topic of friendships. I name a few of my closest friends reminding my husband of one of my favorite introductions. I met one of my dearest local friends while our kids were trying not to drown during swimming lessons. Somehow we meandered into book talk (somehow, right? That’s funny! It’s my friendship litmus test). We both giggled like second graders when we discovered we share the same favorite book—Peace Like a River.

7:15 p.m. Realize I wore a shirt that clings to my tummy. Not the best idea when you know you plan to eat and eat well. Take only a few bites of the brownie my man ordered.

7:30 p.m. See we have plenty of time before we need to pick up kids. Contemplate places to go. My pomegranate martinis lead me to make the same suggestion I always make at the end of our dates. Where else but Barnes & Noble?

7:45 p.m. Arrive at Barnes & Noble. Feel like I’ve walked into a slice of heaven.

7:47 p.m. Spot Peace Like a River friend and her husband.

7:50 p.m. Walk the store with Peace Like a River friend discussing books, periodically checking on our husbands firmly planted in the historical section.

7:55 p.m. Make a beeline for the new Chris Bohjalian book. Discuss his other bestsellers, The Double Bind and Midwives with PLAR friend.

8:10 p.m. Laugh when we lock eyes with yet another couple from our church doing the B & N date night wrap up.

8:40 p.m. My man surprises me by buying a novel (he’s a smart man).

8:45 p.m. Say goodbye to friends and drive to collect children from church.

Here’s where the play by play stops. ;)

So now you see what communicates love to me, don’t you? Book talk. Book browsing. And books bought. Love is so in the air!

How about you—what communicates love to you?

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*photo by flickr