Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk {Pop}........

Well, despite my efforts to salvage our Valentine's Day, things definitely got worse before they got better. After the kids' games, Matt had to run a cheerleading event for a few hours. The original plan was for us to head out for dinner when he got home around 6:30. Well, if you have ever tried to eat out on Valentine's day, you know that you are going to wait AT LEAST 2 hours.

When Matt got home, he was extremely grumpy. By the time we left, it was 7:30, and at our first stop (Olive Garden), it was confirmed.....2-3 hour wait. So, we drove around to a few places with VERY long lines, ending up more grumpy and very hungry by this time.

I then suggested an out-of-the-way Mexican place, out of final exasperation. And we only had a 15-minute wait. And how fitting that it was called The Dungeon. Valentine's Day in the Dungeon, that is precisely what the day was feeling like to me.

So, we sat down, ordered some chips and salsa, and everything seemed to be settling down. Until Hayden reached over and spilled my tall, ice-cold Diet Coke INTO MY LAP. As I felt the ice cold liquid soak into my jeans all down my legs and everything in between, I stopped.

And, only 4 little words ran through my mind....."You have a choice."

At that point, given the frustration of the day, I had the choice of getting angry. Or, I had the choice of making light of the situation and laughing at myself. I looked at Hayden, whose eyes were looking to see how I would react, already threatening to well up with tears.....

Thankfully (thank you Lord, for helping me), I chose the second option. And lest you think that I am bragging or being boastful here, let me be the first to humbly admit that this was all God speaking through me. The selfish part of me really want to scream, cry, stomp out, go to bed and wake up when this day was over. However, thank the Lord, He worked in me to control my tongue, and I simply stated, "OK, let's just get it all out right now. If you want to poop on me, or vomit, or anything else like that, please do it right now so we can get it over with." Both kids and Matt looked at me, and we were all soon giggling. Kennedy said that this was the worst Valentine's Day that turned into the best one. Hayden just looked relieved. And we enjoyed a very delicious dinner and some nice conversation.

To me, this Valentinue's Day reminded me that life isn't perfect. That if we keep it real, life sometimes threatens to get the best of us. But it also reminded me that we often have a choice of how to respond to what life throws our way. And that one simple choice can mean the difference between putting the final nails in the coffin of an already cruddy day while crushing everyone around us, or salvaging the day and helping people around us to feel loved and valued, despite the circumstances.

Hey, this is my life. And I love it. It reminds me that even if our best-laid plans go awry, and even if the bad moods emerge on Valentine's Day, we do have a choice: Will life's inevitable disappointments control us, or will we "make sweet lemonade out of the lemons"?

We decided that we are going to continue celebrating love all week. We are going to write notes to each other all week, put them into our tiny little red mailboxes, and open them next weekend. We are going to study the heart and how it works in our bodies, and we are going to look at how God defines love in His word.

I am so thankful for this man and the children that have come from our love. Although we and our lives are far from perfect, God has blessed us richly and I believe that we live a very charmed life. I am even posting this photo of Matt and I, even though Kennedy snapped it at the end of the day when we were exhausted and had bags under our eyes. Because it shows that authentic love isn't about shiny red hearts and perfect rose bouquets and date nights that go as perfectly planned......it is about living together through the realness of life, whatever that is, and realizing that each and every moment together is God's true gift to us, bags and all. Love you all!