Everything's Quiet on Valentine's Day

What a week it's been -- with a LOT of eating. Tuesday night, Wifey and I drove up to Aventura, to meet Paul, Patricia, and Paul's best college friends Frank and Beth. We ate, heavily, at Casa D' Angelo. We paid heavily, too -- most expensive Italian since Il Gabbiano. I think I'll be skipping the place in the future, but we had a great time -- and I pointed out to Paul that on Saturday he was with his closest childhood friend, Steve, down from Philly, and a few days later with his best college friend, and best law career friend. I made him misty eyed...

The next night, Paul and I took young Michael to the Palm. Mike is a protege -- D1's good friend's husband -- whose career is soaring, and we're handling cases with him. He said that when he reached out to me for career advice, while he was clerking for a federal judge, I emailed him back that I would either meet him for coffee or a cocktail, but if he chose coffee, maybe he ought to forget about becoming a PI lawyer. I guess I was witty back a half decade ago...

After our great steaks, I shifted into another job -- DadBer Eats driver. I delivered a steak, salmon, asparagus, and carrot cake to D1 and Joey, and sat with them as they happily chowed down, as the beautiful baby slept upstairs. It was a lovely night.

And today is Valentine's Day! I always like to celebrate it, and Norman made reservations for a romantic tasting dinner at Eating House in the Gables. Wifey's never been, and was looking forward to it, but I thought it was just for Norman and me. No -- he said -- we could bring our wives, too, so Wifey will get to try it out. 

Wifey has been on double grandma duty -- the human one, and a new furry one. D2 and Jonathan adopted a puppy! They planned on a smallish dog, but large enough to go on runs with Jonathan. Jonathan's friend's girlfriend started a dog rescue, and had an adorable Pyrador for adoption. I had never heard that name and fell in love with it -- a mix of a Labrador and Great Pyrenees.  It didn't seem that would turn out to be a smallish dog, but last week the newlyweds went to meet the dog.

Jonathan said maybe they'll keep looking. His wife said they were not leaving without the dog. So now newly named Betsy, after their wedding hotel, is happily living in Coconut Grove. Wifey went to help dog sit, and reported a hilarious, fun, and loving large puppy -- reminding her of our first marital dog, Midnight. Midnight was a huge black Lab, who we never really trained. I think D2 and Jonathan won't make the same mistake with their new furry baby...

I reminded Wifey of our first Valentine's Day at Villa Wifey -- February of '01. I set up a table in our front courtyard, brought out a boom box to play Sinatra, and served Wifey and the Ds delicious red colored food from DiNapoli. I toasted the wonderful ladies in my life -- still do.

Somehow nearly 2 decades have passed, and Wifey and I are now grandparents. We're going to see Willie Nelson next Tuesday, and he sings how it's funny that time slips away. It truly does.

So more feasting tonight. I will toast Wifey, and her agreeing to share her life's time with me -- the most precious thing we all have. Our time is limited, and must be spent wisely. For us, that has meant building a life together -- with babies who became amazing young women, and now have given us babies to love as well -- one with fur, and one without.