Community Corner

Nothing Says 'I Love You' Like Dirty Socks

February 14 need not always be about dinner, flowers and chocolate

Do you watch “The Middle” on ABC? I love it. I loved it more this week, when Mom Frankie and Dad Mike sit down to explain to their youngest son Brick what love is, by highlighting their Valentine’s Day plans for him (while taking down the Christmas tree, mind you).

The couple goes back and forth on options of going out to eat (too crowded), the movies (they could sleep at home for free), so decide on a bucket of chicken on the couch in their sweats. To take it further, Mike likes sports, so they decide on a bucket of chicken, in separate rooms, on separate televisions, in sweats.

It is a perfect Valentine’s Day plan, if you ask me.

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I’m just that kind of girl. I’m not a big fan of flowers or chocolates. I generally wonder even as I’m opening them how much of the family’s budget was used to purchase these silly things that will be gone in days.

I seldom wear and NEVER ask for jewelry, so that’s out as a gift in this house. How about appliances? Not if my husband wants to stay married.

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So any real gifts have been out for quite some time. I even usually find the hokey card or note a bit cheesy for my taste.

So what will the Treacys be doing this Valentine’s Day? Now standing so close to the arrival of the “big day,” my realistic plans are nothing. My husband works until 1 a.m. Tuesday night anyhow, so … could be a lonely night on the couch with my bucket of chicken and my Patch laptop.

Sounds sad to some I guess, but I really don’t care. It doesn’t bother me. It is just another day.

I think it is more important for you to find ways to work on your relationship and show your loved one that he or she is loved everyday. I don’t need to be lavished with candy hearts to know that.

Stick around here. Help me pay the mortgage and keep our cars running. Help me bathe these two kids. Wash dishes. Shovel dog poop. For the love of God, pick up you dirty socks off the bathroom floor. Now that’s love.

The point is you don’t celebrate love every day. And you don’t need to celebrate it with a Hallmark-appointed token of that love. But, if you are in a relationship, really of any kind, it IS a time to remember how much you appreciate him or her. Take a minute Tuesday to tell someone you love them. Use those other 364 days to show it.


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