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" February 14 is fast approaching. Unlike my ill-fated Vegas trip where Rex and I brought the kids, stayed two in cramped condo with a family of five and hit 8 hours of traffic on the way home, this time I&amp;#039;m going to an actual casino on Valentines Day. There will be gambling, drinking and a fabulous lunch. Just to be crazy, there might even be a pit stop at a local wine cellar replete with cheese, crackers and a handsome bartender explaining the delicate differences between a cabernet, pinor and chianti. With all this frivolity, and the kids stowed safely at home, what could be missing?  Um, that would be Rex. Turns out my brother was born on Valentines Day, 1969. This Saturday he&amp;#039;ll be 40, so my mother, sister, sister&amp;#039;s boyfriend, aunt, cousin, brother and myself are caravanning to Chumash Casino for the big celebration. &amp;quot;Why Valentines Day?&amp;quot; you might ask. &amp;quot;Why not? Rex and I have never made a big stink over a commercialized event. It&amp;#039;s our daily interactions that count.&amp;quot; &amp;quot;But doesn&amp;#039;t Rex feel bad about not going?&amp;quot; you might continue. &amp;quot;Not at all. He decided that with the hundred dollars it would cost a sitter, combined with his quiet nature, it made more sense for him to hold down the fort.&amp;quot; Some of you might think we&amp;#039;re crazy for separating on this magical day of love. But I would have to respectfully disagree. One of the reasons we haven&amp;#039;t separated permanently from each other is that we have accepted each others&amp;#039; personalities. Translation: He is an introvert, I am an extrovert. 95% of the time we push each other to grow due to our differences. But for the other 5% of the time, we&amp;#039;ve agreed to disagree on how we socialize. It&amp;#039;s not personal. There does not need to be a huge fight or hurt feelings. It just is what it is. I still might not convince some of you hopeless romantics with my logic. But I&amp;#039;m kind of over trying to convince other people how to live their lives and vice versa. I&amp;#039;m not anybody else, nor am I the rest of the world. I am me - and I know what I need to be happy. This means kicking up my heels, regardless of if Rex finds that important to his well being or not. This means allowing myself the freedom to explore things that Rex doesn&amp;#039;t have an interest in. It means getting silly and goofy and ridiculous with my family and girlfriends, even if Rex chooses not to. And, most important of all, it means coming home at the end of the day to a man I adore - a man who is the best father I could ask for my children. And, since it is Valentines Day, there&amp;#039;s one tradition I won&amp;#039;t pass up. It involves nudity. And, unlike the casinos I&amp;#039;ll have visited, both of us will be getting lucky. Happy Valentines Day, dear readers! How are you spending it? "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/relationships/a2912/gambling-on-love-this-valentin/>