My “Just Another Day” Valentine’s Day

I wasn’t sure if I was going to write about this but, it was an occurrence or milestone of sorts, mainly because it wasn’t an occurrence or milestone. I believe this past Valentine’s Day was the first one since I’ve been single where it was just a really good, ordinary day which happened to be a Sunday. My mom was in town for the long weekend as a pit stop on her nearly month-long vacation from her fabulously retired life.

First off, I haven’t felt lonely or depressed about Valentine’s Day in God knows how long. I am a woman who has learned to truly enjoy her own company and to treat or pamper herself. But when my children were young, I used to make a big deal about getting them cards, candy, and balloons. As they got older, I gave them more age appropriate Valentines gifts. But Baby Bub is 20 years old now and does not care one hoot about the holiday. Her brothers are 28 and 25, and it hasn’t occurred to me to get them anything in years.

Honestly, the weekend was about enjoying my visit with my Mom. I got to reconnect with myself and the things I enjoy as well as reconnect with my mom. I made it up and out of the house early on Saturday morning to get a hike in with my BFF Sarah and another friend before hightailing it over to my yoga studio for my 9:30 Yin Yoga class. After that, my mom and I joined Sarah and her hubby Rod for breakfast at a local diner we all like. Then she and I went to get pedicures. I posted a picture of both of us getting pedicures with #SelfCare #SelfLove #BeingMyOwnValentine. But you know what? My toes were jacked up and long overdue for one, so I would have gotten them done even if it wasn’t Valentine’s Day. It was just more special because I got to share the experience with my mom. My nail salon knows me well so they treated my mom well. We had a grand time.

On Sunday, which was actually Valentine’s Day, I fulfilled my regular service commitment in the park in the morning. When I got home, I decided to take my mom to a quaint little tourist town in the mountains called Julian for the afternoon. There are shops and restaurants along the main street with a lot of foot traffic. She loved it. In fact, after finding a fabulous parking spot and crossing our first street, we came upon a llama. That’s right, Pava the llama was standing placidly on the street corner taking pictures with folks. I couldn’t believe my eyes and just laughed because I really shouldn’t be surprised at what I encounter in Southern California anymore. She took a picture with him and I briefly considered taking one too until it’s owner told him to turn his head towards the camera and I saw how big his TEETH were! In any case, after Pava, we moved on to some shops where my mom was in 7th heaven buying some fabulous things. We stopped at a streetside winery called Blue Door Winery to get her a Sangria, which she said was delicious. We went on to have a yummy late lunch at The Julian Grille before heading back home for a nap. The weather was just perfect so the drive to and from the mountain town was just as pleasant as the excursion itself. I honestly would have forgotten it was Valentine’s Day if it wasn’t for the Facebook posts. It was just another great sunny day in February for Southern California. How cool is that?