This year was my first Valentine’s Day as a wife.
It didn’t feel much different than the years past, except for an overwhelming desire to find a sweet, thoughtful gift my husband wouldn’t be embarrassed by.
Let’s face it guys, Valentine’s Day is for women.
My guess is most of you wouldn’t ooh and ahh over a stuffed teddy bear holding a sign reading “I Love You,” gorge on a box of chocolates or be the envy of the office when a giant bouquet of flowers arrives with your name on it.
Woman are easy. Flowers, chocolates, jewelry, a nice card, dinner out on the town and we’re feeling like we did when we first fell in love.
Wowing a man you care about isn’t as simple, and it gets harder with each passing year.
The first year we were dating I gave my husband tickets to see the Arizona Sundogs and bought him dinner in Prescott before the game.
The second year, I made him a book filled with photos of us that told the story of how we met, an appropriate gift for a journalist to give her one true love.
The third and fourth years he received tickets to Arizona Coyotes matches.
I upped the ante from the first year since I realized he was a keeper.
This year, I found myself at a loss, but couldn’t back down now.
I realize I set a pretty high standard in the past, and I found myself in near-panic mode trying to think of something a little more personal and heartfelt to let my husband know I love him.
A sweet card is a given.
We exchange cards on birthdays, Christmas and Valentine’s Day each year with personal messages to each other.
While free hockey tickets really are his dream come true, this year I was looking for something a little more personal.
I ruled out a giant print of myself to hang in his office. His fellow workers may not enjoy looking at a picture of me all day as much as I’m sure he would.
Serenading him with love songs also probably wouldn’t go over real well.
The funny thing is he doesn’t even like Valentine’s Day.
He doesn’t think a person should need a day designated to tell someone, “I love you.” He tells me he loves me multiple times a day and does many thoughtful things for me throughout the entire year.
He says that’s better than one day of gestures, and he’s right.
