L-O-V-E

Today the world will be filled with pink and red and all things lovely.  I think I’m pretty neutral when it comes to Valentine’s Day.  I could take it or leave it.  It’s nice to share your love with your sweetheart and browse through the cards at the store and make sugar cookies in the shape of hearts.  And, I think everyone enjoys having an envelope sitting on the table with their name on it.  But, as my best friend said last night, “Do we really need a day on the calendar that requires us to do that?  Shouldn’t we be doing that every day?” 

I think so.

The love we show each other comes in the simple kindness of our deeds and in our words that we choose to use throughout the day.  Valentine’s Day should be seen in our lives every day by turning on your spouse’s electric blanket while they’re in the shower, by listening with our full attention to our children when they’re talking about their day at school, or by calling a sick friend to see if they need anything.  Our actions and our loving words are our gifts to each other.  Those are the tiny everyday moments that are wrapped in pretty paper and tied with satin ribbons.   We don’t have to call it Valentine’s Day though, let’s just call it L-O-V-E.

"Love doesn't make the world go round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile."

Franklin P. Jones

"Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies."

Aristotle

"Nobody has ever measured, not even poets, how much the heart can hold."

Zelda Fitzgerald

"You come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly."

Sam Keen

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FEBRUARY VOCAB CHALLENGE 101

Day 8

fell: (adjective) Fierce, cruel, lethal

"Steal Your Heart Day"

I don’t know why I picked brown, but I did.  It was supposed to represent me and be unique to me.   My mom embroidered an “S” on the middle of the big heart and then we hung little hearts from brown satin ribbons from the big heart. I still have it. One of the hearts that dangled from the large heart was made with ribbon and sugar water to make it stiff so it would hold its shape.

I think it was called “Steal Your Heart Day.”  The student council held a contest on Valentine’s Day (I think it was in 8th or 9th grade).  All the girls were supposed to make a heart of some sort to pin onto their shirt and wear it to school on Valentine’s Day.  The only rule for the girls; do not talk to the boys.  If you did slip up, then you had to relinquish your precious heart to the boy who got  you to talk.  They essentially “stole your heart” that day.   It was a clever little contest.  I think I kept mine almost all day and then lost it to a boy named Benito who kept staring at me, obnoxiously, and making kissing noises during English.  He smiled when I said, “Ok, fine. Take it.  Just quit staring at me.”

I think he was declared the winner that afternoon and probably won a prize.  He had the hearts pinned all over his shirt and jeans and was so proud of himself.  He did however, return my heart to me at the end of the day, which I thought was very nice of him.  Most of them probably ended up in the trash, but I wanted to keep mine and he knew it.

As Valentine’s Day approaches, I have fond memories of the day my husband stole my heart forever.  He was giving a presentation to about 60 of us and stared at me during the entire thing.  I’m sure everyone noticed, but it didn’t matter to us. The day ended with a walk and a kiss.  He had stolen my heart and I knew it.  This time however, I didn’t want my heart back.  It was his to keep.  I wanted him to have it.   That was almost twenty-two years ago and my heart still flutters when I think of that day.  It was definitely “Steal Your Heart Day” for me.  I hope each of you will have a happy Valentine’s Day next week and you let someone steal your heart. 

"Steal Your Heart Day" Heart - circa 1980s

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FEBRUARY VOCAB CHALLENGE 101

Day 7

valetudinarian: (noun) A weak or sickly person, especially one who is constantly or overly worried about his or her health.

The Card

Fiction

The card was baby pink and had a red heart in the middle of it, with a cursive “I love you” written across the center.  It was the only one left at the gas station counter at 11:37 P.M. so he had no choice but to buy it.  It would be the vehicle that would say what he wanted to say yesterday but couldn’t.  He had to tell her he loved her or he just might die. At least that’s how he felt. Death would be better than letting this crack in the window of their relationship close too quickly. He started writing under the phrase printed on the inside of the card, “it’s how I feel about you”.  He began to put down the words that were his thoughts and couldn’t stop writing.  He had to draw arrows directing her where to read next so that his midnight poetry would make sense to her.  He didn’t leave anything out.  He told her his life meant nothing with out her in it and would make her happy if it required his last breath.  He needed to tell her. She had to know this.  He signed the card with his initials and sealed the envelope, addressed it and then went back into the gas station to buy a stamp then dropped the white envelope into the mailbox slot out front. 

When he got back home, his granddaughter was sitting at the kitchen table crying.  He held her until she stopped.  It had only been a week since her mother, his daughter, had passed away. Her two younger sisters were asleep on the couch.  They were too young to lose sleep over their loss.  He gave her a kiss on the forehead and told her to get some sleep and that things would be better in the morning.  She curled up next to her sisters and closed her eyes.

He climbed the stairs and got into bed, and he too began to cry, for his loss and fear of losing once again in what little life he had left in this world.  Tomorrow would be another day.  A better day.  He hoped, a day closer to loving her.