I hope everyone enjoyed my Chicago Northwest Restaurant Week preview. I had debated on writing a Valentine’s Day blog in the mix of all of that but decided against it for one reason…..my Valentine’s Day was kind of awful this year.
Now before I start getting the inquiries asking about the state of my marriage, we are more than fine. My husband is my heart and soul and I love him to bits. (I can hear all the single guys who read this saying “Dang it” and a few of the gals too…you know who you are…wink…wink.)
My husband and I pretty much have Valentine’s Day hearts for each other every day of the year and consider February 14 a day where we get to say extra I love yous to each other and people in our life.
Our day started off so much fun….I had I love you stickers on the mirrors for him when he woke up…a bouquet of Mr. Goodbars was waiting for him in the family room. He surprised me by running to Starbuck’s to get me my special cappuccino and flowers before it was even 8 o’clock in the morning.
It could not have been the start to a more perfect day….and then it happened.
Like a dark cloud approaching before a spring storm, Earl looked at me and said he didn’t feel well. You have to understand….Earl NEVER says this. I was scared like I was hearing a tornado warning beep on the emergency broadcast station.
He went into the bathroom and I heard it. (If you have a weak stomach…you might want to stop reading at this point.) My poor husband was vomiting. Not just vomiting but violently vomiting. It was horrible. Poor guy.
He got done and we got him into bed….you know the bed that NOTHING is going to happen in on Valentine’s Day because it is going to take at least a day for me to want to go anywhere near him after what I just witnessed.
I sighed and cleaned up the bathroom…and then it happened again….and again. It was like I was watching the Exorcist and just waiting for the moment where his head would start spinning.
Normally on Valentine’s Day when he says he is “hot” it means some fun stuff is going to happen….this Valentine’s Day his hotness was because he was burning up with fever. He was a mess and I just wanted him to feel better.
He pretty much stayed in bed….alone…for the rest of the day. I cleaned the bathroom numerous times, washed all the towels and sheets and just kept reminding myself that THIS is what love is all about. It is about loving someone so much that you are okay with wiping the vomit that came out his nose off the floor. It isn’t romantic but it is real life. (I give Hallmark permission to use this for a story line….hmmmm…who should play me?)
Dinner time came and I made him a cup of miso broth. I looked in the kitchen and got a little sad. I had a couple fun things planned to surprise him and I’ll just have to do them on a different day.
I pulled myself together and made some delicious chicken salad for myself. It wasn’t the fancy dinner I wanted to make for us but at this point it really didn’t matter.
I ate my “sad”wich and reminded myself that this is one bad day out of hundreds of wonderful ones. I looked at my husband bundled in his blankies and told him that I would rather have a Valentine’s Day of taking care of him then to have a Valentine’s Day where I didn’t have him at all.
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise (Not Miracle Whip)
- 1 Tb FRESH Tarragon, finely chopped
- 1 tsp chives
- 1/4 cup chopped celery
- 1/2 pound chopped rotisserie chicken
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- Splash of Red Wine Vinegar
- 4 Croissants
- In a big bowl, whisk together the mayo herbs, mustard and red wine vinegar.
- Fold in the chicken and celery.
- Divide evenly between the croissants.
- Serve to the one you love or eat them all yourself as you watch sappy love stories alone.
