Chocolate hearts for Romantic starts,

Pretty cards written by wordy Bards,

Love declared by tenderness shared,

Kisses traded by passion unfaded…

… good grief, this sounds like a load of hooey! 

I tried to come up with some sort of a romantic poem for today, but it just sounded more like what a teenager would come up with, while dreaming of her biggest crush from school. Gross!

Let’s try this again…

Don’t get me wrong, I think Valentine is a lovely holiday for young lovers, and all the kids at grammar school who trade bright cards and candies marked with “Kiss Me”. Beyond that, it has just become the candy markets BOOM Time!

I do recall years ago, when my husband and I first married, how all of our first holidays together were such a big deal. Our first Valentines Day together, he filled our bedroom full of crushed rose petals and gifted me an enormous box of my favorite caramels. I still remember how fragrant the air was, just as I entered the room… it was sublime!

While it was amazing and unforgettable, it had set the bar for the future, of what could outdo the first WOW experience of a lovers day surprise! Where does the poor guy go from here? 

By the following year we were driving long haul in a Tractor Trailer, being limited to shopping in places that could park an 18 wheeler. 

The look of the overpriced and wilted flowers offered in the gas station, as well as the inflated cost of the crushed boxes of chocolates sitting on the shelf near the showers, stifled any acts of romance. 

We spent nearly 7 years of our marriage, traveling and surviving this way, forcing things of love and romance into the storage bins.

Love finds a way…

Somewhere in all that mess of life, my husband always found a way to remind me of his love… sometimes just buying me simple thing, or taking me out for a surprise dinner, occasionally even renting us a hotel room with room service. He may have stopped buying me fancy cards, but for years he has left random post it notes around the house voicing his love for this woman. I find them in spots like the medicine cabinet, the refrigerator, or my sock drawer. 

This morning I decided to give my husband a card… not just any card… no no, that would be boring. There has been this Valentines Day card in my bags for some years now, and neither of us can remember where it came from, or who purchased it for whom. It has remained in its original cellophane wrapper, with no writings in it, whatsoever! We both laughed hysterically, when I handed it to him, because it has been kind of a running joke between us… since neither knows who bought the card. When he jokingly demanded that I should at least write something in it, I pretended to be offended, as I explained to him that I was saving it for him to use next year. I gently placed the silly card back into its wrapper and once again, stored it away for safe keeping until next year. The words in the card still hold true, so why not use it again?

My husband tries to give me gifts, tenderness, and words of love throughout the year, so by the time we get back around to February 14th, I’m not craving chocolate, nor am I expecting a gift or special dinner venue… not that those are bad things at all… I’m just full up! Valentines Day now represents sort of an annual confirmation of the love we share with each other throughout the year. 

Don’t worry… I am sure that I will make myself sick off the chocolate that goes on sale tomorrow or anytime after…

I imagine it to be this way for many couples who have been together for many seasons, weathering many storms, building lives together, raising children … we learned to celebrate in the moments afforded to us, cultivating the garden of love we share. 

Valentines Day is a wonderful holiday that fosters love and romance…

May we remember to carry the sweetness of the chocolate, the heavenly aroma of those flowers, and the deep attentiveness that comes with preparing our lovers gifts, throughout the coming year…

Happy Valentines Day everyone!