Valentine's is the day of my public wedding anniversary (30 years ago). When my husband got an assignment from the base we were both stationed he asked me to marry and wanted to be married nearly immediately. My mom wanted it done right. The fact that we needed to be married in less than a month was giving her heart attacks so we settled on Valentine's Day but then were secretly married within a week. Everyone on base knew we were married but we kept it secret from everyone else. My sister (my best woman) and bridesmaids did not know. When we visited his family for the Christmas Holidays, they did not know. I was following my husband's wishes about keeping secrets from my friends and family in a way I have unquestionally done for nearly my entire marriage. It was a secret that felt really intense to hold onto because I was stationed in a place where I had friends outside of work.

This morning when I got up, I found a lovely chocolate cake next to the coffee pot.