Happy VD!

That never gets old. Although they've been calling them STDs for a number of years now, so maybe it's a little old. Happy Valentines Day to all my wonderful friends, and especially to my hubby and longtime love. There is something special about having known the person you're with since you were both teenagers, and when he's not leaving his rockets in the living room or locking that pointless bottom door lock ;).... I am lucky to still feel like a giddy coed around him.

Drove back from Big D last night. I am amazed we didn't lose the car in a pothole. They are everywhere after the recent weather, and on freeways where you're driving 75mph. It's Dallas, where 10 over is the minimum speed. Kept waiting for Princess Peach to drop a banana peel. (That one was for the Nintendo fans.)

My in-laws are in other countries more often than not. One of the projects they work on is an orphanage in India. They are there most frequently. We talked for a while yesterday about the cultural differences between here and there with regard to married life. For one thing, there seem to my in-laws to be more situations with one spouse living far away, usually to go to school in the US, and for periods of years at a time. Where these types of living arrangements are exceedingly uncommon in the US, and I certainly would not do that in my family, it doesn't seem to be a big deal to their Indian friends at all.

We were pondering whether it has something to do with arranged marriages, that perhaps there is a different bond between them than with our traditional "fall in love and get married" scenario. Is it just a more practical cultural mindset, to do what is necessary to get an education and a good job, or is it a lack of romantic connection with their mate that makes it easy to live apart?

Now I am certain many people in arranged marriages luck out and get someone they are attracted to and fall in love with. The majority probably love and care about the other person deeply over time, even without the passion and excitement of ever having been "in love" with them. But I can tell you that the guys my mother would have paired me with were NOT the ones I would have chosen. Mothers look for different things than daughters. That's cool, and of course I totally understand her choices, now that I am a mom.

Anyhoo. So then I was wondering... the kids in the orphanage do not have parents to arrange marriages for them. Who does it? Are they never married? Liz tells me she hadn't thought about that. One of the house moms that works at the orphanage is an orphan herself, and far past the typical marrying age there, but recently was paired with someone by one of her church leaders. In the end, Liz imagines that the orphans are rarely married. So sad! And it's Valentines Day! Now I can't stop thinking about it. I think someone should be over there pairing the young adults who don't have parents. Maybe orphans can be paired with each other. I dunno. Something! I must figure this out. It's a Valentines Day emergency. :)