Mike took me to the town he proposed to me for Valentine's day. We got a room and hung out.

We were both struck by the quiet. No children = a great deal of quiet

We watched Star Trek, uninterrupted. We ate uninterrupted. We shopped uninterrupted. We screwed uninterrupted. By far the most luxurious thing we did, however, was to go to a bookstore and browse for books. We browsed and bought and read together. And the drive to and from -- 3 hours each way, we got to talk with each other. We got to think out loud with each other. We discovered that we are still best friends.

I miss him so much. I know it's weird, but to sleep in the same house and have lunch together, doesn't always mean we get that much time together. Often, we're working so hard to keep the house going and the kids managed that our conversations are half-conscious stringings of words in the wee hours of the morning in that tween time of wakefulness and rapid eye movement, where conversations stop when one of us starts snoring.

I got to clarify a few things and thank him and he did some of the same.

It's not very romantic to go out on Valentine's day, but rather expected. However, this was one of the most romantic and serene times I've spent with Mike in a long time.