My Valentine

My husband loves events (his own). He likes things to be big and memorable. He likes big gestures, big gifts, big moments. So we got to go out-of-town for Valentine's weekend. Actually we did a Friday - Saturday event (he had to work today). It was much fun.

We drove to San Antonio Friday morning. On the way, we stopped at Buc-ee's for a little sustenance and a Cherry Lime for me (my favorite). Then we drove through historic downtown Seguin just so we could say we'd been there. (Really, that's about all I can say.) We got to San Antonio too early to check into our little motel, so we left the car there and walked to the Riverwalk. It was nicely uncrowded. We wandered around checking gift shops for the perfect SA trinket to commemorate our trip (plus our last trip here when we didn't get anything).

We have a wall clock with a curio cabinet thingee, that we've put little memory stuff in from various places we've been, etc. There's a sand dollar from South Padre Island, a bottle of sand from Catalina Island, a picture of Mike at Lake Tahoe, a little mug from Yellowstone, a magnet from Nashville, a few little things from Disneyland, stuff from my brothers' weddings, a key chain from the Christmas show we did in New York (state), a crystal clock (a clock in a clock - I just think that's funny), and some other random stuff. Anyway, it's full. So we need to start expanding our mementos elsewhere, and Mike determined that we'd do a shelf in the coffee bar. But in our wanderings around SA, we came to the conclusion that we're going to start getting coffee mugs as our travel remembrances and hang them on the back of the coffee bar (we already have mugs hanging there, but now we'll replace them with memory mugs as we get them). Brilliant, yes? We are very exciting people, I must say. However, the perfect mug presented itself too early in our trip, and we didn't make it back to that gift shop before we left, so we'll have to go back another time. Oh well.

After our afternoon wanderings we went back to our motel to check in. It wasn't bad! Not luxurious by any stretch (the shampoo came in a packet like ketchup), but it was clean and the big king size bed was comfy. We kicked back in the bed and watched cable for a while (USA channel, I miss you!). Then we gussied ourselves up and drove back down to the river. After finally coming to the conclusion that more people had come downtown for the evening than had been there earlier in the day, we actually pulled into a PAY lot (Mike does not believe in paying for parking or tolls, so this was a big deal).

We tripped on down to The Landing which is on the river level of the Hyatt. It's a little jazz bar that has been there since before the Riverwalk was anything worth visiting. The banjo/guitar player Howard Elkins has been with the Jim Cullum band for 30 years, and my parents always talk about going down to listen when they go to SA, so I've always wanted to go. Howard is the son of the pastor that led the church we went to when I was teeny tiny. I don't remember Howard, I believe he's my parents' age, but I remember his dad, and you can certainly see the resemblance.

I was pretty sure they served food at The Landing, so we had decided to eat there. They did have food and it was quite expensive, but we went with it. Then there was the 1-drink minimum. OK. And, of course, the "Performance Charge". Hmm...good thing we went for the cheap motel. :) But, the music was great, the musicians amazing. Anyway, Mike's not big on hanging out and listening to music with 100 of your closest (very close) friends, but he endured it for me (ain't he the sweetest thing), and I thought it was wonderful! We didn't stay too late because we're old people, and tire easily, and were already out way passed our bedtime.

Before we came home Saturday, we went to Market Square and checked out the merchandise. It's a neat little place. Then we headed back home (and Buc-ee's again). All in all a good trip. Honestly, my favorite part was jut sitting in the car and actually having conversation with my husband. It gave us a chance to get on the same page with some things we just hadn't gotten around to talking about, and I'm so glad we did. I highly recommend long drives with your spouse.

So the Valentine event was a success. Usually we just go out to dinner (like we do almost every day) and maybe stop by Starbuck's or Coldstone before coming home. So this was a special one (our 17th Valentine's Day together). I still love him very very very much.....

Flashback

I don't know who made the coffee at the office this morning, but immediately upon my first sip I was back at my dad's office in Harlingen, TX when I was about 7 years old. All they had was coffee, and when we would go down to the office with him on weekends, my brothers and I would drink heavily doctored coffee. So this morning I added a large portion of powdered creamer and Sweet-n-Low (no sugar cubes here) and toasted some good memories.

Rain

I love the rain, especially thunderstorms. I can't remember a time when I didn't love the rain. Even when I'm stuck in traffic going 10 mph on the freeway because of rain-induced slowdowns, I love the rain. I think some of it has to do with mostly living in deserts my whole life. But really what I feel when it rains is a sense of awe. Thunder and lightning are incredible and powerful and dangerous, making God seem BIG like He should seem; like He is. And rain is indiscriminate, life-giving, and makes the world seem smaller, softer. I love the smell of rain and the sound of rain. I love watching the clouds roll in and the sky get dark. I love the rain.

I have so many memories tied to rain. Living in Brownsville when I was little and being scared and excited by the thunderstorms. Being on campus in Arizona when a "monsoon" hit - it was unreal. Camp in New Mexico listening to the rain ping on the tin roof. Afternoons in Canyon when it would get so hot and then the thunderheads would roll in, the cows would line up single file and start walking home, and then big fat rain. Doing the show in the rain. Avoca, NY where if it wasn't snowing, it was probably raining. Riding the Judge Roy Scream at Six Flags with the rain like needles. I love the rain.