This morning, I woke up to the most wonderful reminder ever, of how lucky I am to be the only girl in a family of boys.  I could be a typical woman and turn this simple holiday into something elaborate and stressful, but being the only woman in the house means that I don’t have to!

The little ones helped the big one make me an apple pie, and we had gourmet burgers with carmelized onions, mushrooms, and blue cheese  by candlelight:

Jake also made some great pink pancakes for breakfast.  I still can’t believe that he stands at the stove, flipping pancakes and making scrambled eggs like an adult.  Or maybe I can’t really believe that we let him?

When I came home from work, Daddy hung up my coat, and Jakey whisked me back to my bedroom to help me change my clothes.  Eli was in his usual pose.  He presented me with a series of drawings:  a ferry boat, a river with a shark in it, and a stove with eggs frying and banana bread baking.  They had set the table, decorated each of our seats, and even bought Mommy a heart balloon.  And the best part was that the whole house smelled like apple pie!

Azerbaijan doesn’t celebrate Valentine’s Day, although they do recognize Women’s Day along with most of the rest of the world.  Sort of the same thing, only the emphasis is not about “love” but rather about the value of women in general.  It is a pretty nice idea.  No teenage angst over whether you get a “valentine,” as a female you are valuable anyway.  Sort of ironic, given the culture you would think that Azerbaijan would be more about Valentine’s and the U.S. would be about celebrating women!

I take seriously my job to make sure my boys grow up knowing to show respect for all people.  Men, women, themselves, each other.  We are off to a good start!