Happy Valentine’s Day! Whether you get into it or consider it merely a Hallmark holiday, I hope it’s everything you want it to be. Frankly I’ve had my fill of helping Thing 2 get her class Valentines done. As a 5th grader, Thing 1 wants nothing to do with any Valentine’s festivities anymore. That’ll probably change as soon as her class party starts.
I heard a thing on the radio yesterday where people were sharing their most memorable Valentine’s gifts. One was a handcrafted wooden box with the couple’s ‘song’ burned into the top, one was the woman’s name done in pipe. No stories about jewels or luxury cars or tropical islands came up.
My most memorable Valentine’s gift is one the Caveman gave me years ago. I still have it, still use it and it still makes me laugh.
He created a playlist for me when I was quite new to running. Before I share the list you need to know that the Caveman is a Neanderthal of few words. What Caveman isn’t? He is not one to pump me up verbally or tell me how great I am. He shows his support through his actions more than his words.
That’s what made this playlist so special. Some of the highlights:
More Than a Feeling, among others by Boston. At that time the Boston Marathon was not even on my radar.
Don’t Stop Believing from Journey
and here’s where it gets even better:
It has Galvanize. You may know it from a certain beer commercial.
But here’s the topper:
In the Caveman’s world, this is the pinnacle of toughness and motivation. It communicates his intention for me. I always pony up and run a little harder when I hear it. Ok I laugh a lot little too.
In short, it was a gift that broke all the rules. It’s a playlist so gritty and dude-ish and exactly what the Caveman thought would be motivating for me. I can’t help but think of him when I hear it, I can’t help but love it.
