A local firehouse sells roses at a good price every year for Valentine’s Day. It’s a straight-up dude solution: a firehouse, plastic tubs with bunches of roses; a cash register from Staples, cash only. You file in, select one or more pre-wrapped bunches, and shuffle out. No special requests. You want some? Buy them. If you don’t? Don’t. I left the Mustang running while I got mine.

It’s funny: Rhonda and I were never really Valentine’s Day people. It’s a good day to avoid crowds. We choose to have Aaron delivered then, peripheral to his due date. We have, paradoxically, been frustrated that we couldn’t take Aaron out for dinner on his birthday, because restaurants are artificially crowded.