In spite of our No Spend rules, our Valentine’s Day was a special treat. Frankly, I’ve always thought it was a waste of our money to spend double or triple the regular price for flowers, especially roses, for Valentine’s. So when my husband mentioned a few of his co-workers and their $300 plus expenditures for Valentine’s Day floral arrangements, I wasn’t even a little bit jealous. Don’t get me wrong, I think flowers are nice. But I’d rather have a bouquet of 300 dollar bills.

Instead of focusing on gifts, we made the most of our experiences. My husband took the day off work, which is always a treat. I still had to work, but I put my computer away in the afternoon for some quality time. We headed to the gym for a workout together. Then we returned home for our regular Friday night dinner of pizza. Our kids enjoyed Family Movie Night without us and we enjoyed some time without them. While we sat on the couch, sipping a special strawberry smoothie Rod made for us, we simply basked in the joy of just being – together. We finished off the night by looking through old pictures.

The value of the day was not in the number of dollars spent. The value was in the time spent remembering each other. You see, I sometimes forget why my husband is so special. I forget why I was drawn to him in the first place. I forget why we picked each other and filled our house with kids. I forget how to be a couple instead of parents, or employees, or roommates. I forget how to talk to him about hopes and dreams instead of just bills and schedules and what’s for dinner. I forget all the good times we’ve had because they’re so easily overshadowed by all the bad times. I forget to let him know what a great guy he is and how grateful I am he married me. So Valentine’s Day reminds me to remember my husband in all these ways and more.