...Ok, so normally this rundown would have showed up here on Friday, but there were some other things that distracted me that day. I'll get to those.

I had, for all intents and purposes, a calm and peaceful Valentine's Day. DH surprised me with flowers that I didn't even notice when I came downstairs, in the dark, to turn on my computer and get things going for work. He came downstairs a few minutes later and asked if I'd seen the pretty flowers, which caused me to turn my neck too quickly (and I had a muscle spasm on Monday that was causing some discomfort already).

Pretty daisies, carnations and orchids - like the orchids in my bouquet at our wedding. He always manages to get bouquets with those.

I didn't take them to the office so that I could enjoy them at home, and once at the office it was great! No flowers. No jewelry. No annoying women clucking that my sweetheart didn't send me anything, but lookie at what they got. It was heavenly.

Dinner was at home with DH and the kids so we avoided the mess that Valentine's Day usually brings to restaurants. A nice quiet evening with good company and good food. I didn't even notice that DH didn't tell me he loves me. I didn't notice that until the next day, and it's ok. I rarely hear the words, but the actions are loud and clear. And that was truly evident the next morning...

Friday started out like any other day. Get up, get dressed, read my email and head out the door. DH and the kids sometimes hug me (when they get out of bed in time) and this was one of those days. Then DH happened to mention that he needed to check the oil on the Outback and I went back in the house for a last minute change of keys so I could take Kira (my beloved almost 15 year old Jeep Grand Cherokee). I headed onto Starbucks, and then to work. Well, that was the plan anyway...

...someone rear ended me post-Starbucks but before I made it to the office. It wasn't bad - just a minor bump in the middle of a very busy expressway by a small VW Jetta. My Jeep? Seemed just fine, but the back bumper might be pushed in just a little bit. His Jetta? Poor car is going to need some serious front end work with the way that grill, hood and bumper crumpled. My back and neck? Just fine. The only aches and pains I've got are related to the muscle spasm that I had 5 days prior to all of this. But I'm jumping ahead.

After getting off the phone with 911, I called DH. And I lost it - total crying and shaking and not thinking straight. I was shaky with the dispatcher, and she calmed me down a little, but that composure disappeared completely when I got on the phone with DH. I know that it could have been a lot worse. I know that the car is replaceable and I'm not. Logic and reason were there, but the rest of me wasn't catching up.

I dealt with the guy who hit me, I dealt with the CHP. I called DH when I got to work like I promised that I would. And I started shaking and crying a little again. That's when I found out that he was on his way to see me. Driving through the same traffic, only worse because it was the height of the commute hours, to come see me. To check on me? Not quite. To console me was the main purpose. I was so happy to see him when he got here that I started to sniffle and shake a little again.

But he came to calm me down and console me. My beautiful wonderful Kira had been munched again, but it was no where near what had happened 5 years ago on 880 when a Dodge Ram 2500 bashed into me and crumpled the bumper and the tailgate door. That time I had serious back pain and whiplash and felt it almost immediately. This time I was just tense and that was already the case before I left for work because of the muscle spasm (and pinched nerve) that hadn't quite resolved itself.

Now, I'll tell you - with actions like that the words are nothing. The fact that he came out to check on me and console me is going to stick with me forever. That just a little fender bender, which had me shaking more than the the accident on 880 did, would prompt him to drive through nasty traffic to see me...

...I don't care what anyone else says - seriously. You could have all the flowers and jewelry in the world but it's nothing if that guy doesn't do something that really shows that care and concern. Like handing you that bottle of water when you've worked out too hard, hand feeding you those ice chips while you're in labor, taking you to the local hamburger joint when you're craving french fries desperately, or hopping in his car to come see you within an hour of a car accident....

...now *that* is true love.