Newly engaged on Valentines Day!

Here is a shout out to all the couples who will be getting engaged today, the largest day of engagements followed by Christmas.

There is nothing quite like the proposal and the ring. The excitement, the possibility, the feeling that you are taking a huge step toward the "rest of your life." For those of us who grew up wanting to get married, it means the search is over and you can enter a new phase of life.

I can honestly say that things changed after I got married - after the wedding ceremony. I felt a calmness, a sense of security and well-being that I could not have predicted before. It was like I was finally "home", with my new family (my husband) on the path of my adult life.

Here I sit now, four years later, with two small children. My father is going to babysit as my mom is visiting my in-laws (yes, my mom and mother-in-law get along like long lost best friends) so he is Valentineless. Going on dates now our engagement period feels like an eternity ago and yet it is still filled with memories of excitement, hope and wonder. The unknown and all its potential.

So here's to all you new brides and grooms who said "I will" today or tonight. I wish you nothing but the joy that a good marriage brings and the humility to know that marriage is NOT about you but about a new "us".