What Is Romantic?

We had Oldest Boy's "kids only" birthday party yesterday. It went off pretty well (the only minor hitch was one boy coming down with an earache, poor kid) and I think everyone had a good time, including the parents who hung around and helped out. The games were fun and we ended up only doing two of the six I had planned because they played so nicely together. For those of you who don't have boys, this is an anomaly. Boys are usually rough-housing, carousing, running, screaming heathens - but they were actually quietly reading some books or playing for over half an hour. Strange, but welcome.

Most everyone was gone by 3:30, with one dad and his son hanging out until closer to 4 (but he was nice and entertaining so it wasn't exactly a hardship). My sister-in-law and her DH stayed for awhile, too, but they didn't get to our place until well after 2:30 and it was nice to visit with them and have some quiet time.

Now for the romance...Mr. MOTH and I have never exactly been the overly romantic types. He brings me flowers 3 times a year - my birthday, our anniversary, and Valentine's Day. I love flowers, so I will never, ever tell him that it's not necessary. Ever. This year was no exception and they were proudly displayed during Saturday's festivities. Planning and preparing for said festivities would have worn me out during the best of times. This past week was hardly the best of times. I spent the entire day Monday down and out with the flu/fever. Tuesday was better but I was far from operating on all cylinders. Wednesday Mr. MOTH freaked out because we were going to have so many people in our house (which is NOT small by any standards, but it is, uh, "under construction") and told me I was going to have to do everything myself because he wasn't helping. Oh, and I'm six months pregnant. Fun times. But Saturday after the party, my kitchen was magically set to rights by a few kind friends and family but MOSTLY by my husband. I was absolutely 100% exhausted. I could barely lift a finger. Yet somehow I didn't have to. He saw what needed to be done and he did it. That, dear readers, is romance when you've been married for seven years! Too bad I was so tired...