Valentine's Month

OK, so everybody celebrates Valentine's Day. It's a wonderful holiday, full of Cupids, dark chocolate, balloons and bouquets. But why stop at just one day? Why not make the entire month of February Valentine's Month? Or the entire year Valentine's Year?

Sure, only Ted Turner or Bill Gates can afford to send flowers every day. But all of us can send our love through one of the five love languages: affirmations, quality time, gifts, acts of service and physical touch. The love languages fit any budget, whether we are dirt poor or can afford to have empty rooms in the house and a gas piggy that squeals from 0 to 60 mph in five seconds.

Celebrating Valentine's all year long requires making the relationship the top priority. It must be more important than the dog, the cat or the bowling league. It must be more important than hunting elk or wearing a cheesehead and rooting for the Green Bay Packers.

I think Teri and I are on track to celebrate a really great Valentine's Month. That's true only because we are trying to create for ourselves a great Groundhog Day. Like in the movie by the same name starring Bill Murray, we are doing the same day over and over, like so many couples, but our goal is to not to hear the grinding routine but instead to let that day evolve and to eventually get it just right.

We want to create a good Groundhog Day, a good Groundhog Week, a good Groundhog Month and a good Groundhog Year. If and when we do, Valentine's Month and Year will take care of itself.