The chocolate and card is ready.  Beyond that not much else is expected.  So it goes on Valentines day for a well weathered couple after twenty two years of marriage.  I know what may happen when I walk through the door with my offering to her tonight — surprise and OH CRAP (my Baptist spouse will not likely use the word CRAP).  Why?  I know my wife.  She has been playing the “will he get something for me?” guessing game all week.  I will present my offering, she will thank me, then run out the door to buy a response at Walgreens.

Junior Mints, please.

Oh, yes, you can borrow my debit card.

A lot more interesting than my own “love” life will be seeing how this Valentines goes for my 17 year old daughter.  This year there is no boyfriend in the picture.  However, there are several suitors drooling in the wings.  She has been leading one boy around by the nose for several months now, the pitiful soul rushing to her whenever she calls.  The kid trips over himself.  He rescued her last year when her boyfriend broke up with her a few days before the homecoming dance and took her to the dance.  Ever since he has been following her around like a puppy dog.  Thing is that my daughter is just leading him on.  She is not interested in him at all.  But he doesn’t care how much she abuses him.  The other day he came over to take her somewhere, sat on the couch and watched while I played Call of Duty, sucking up to me so much that I almost said something (I held it in — but I just felt like advising the boy to dial it down a few notches). 

It’s funny to see that scenario from the dad end rather than from the suck up side.