Remember when you were just a kid and it was Valentine’s Day at school?  I do.  I remember getting little white sacks and then drawing something cute on the front with my name on it.  Maybe in art class we would create little heart cutouts and paste them onto the sacks.  It was important to get that little sack just right.  Then we would all hang our sacks on the tray of the chalkboard so we would be ready when it was time to hand out our cards.  Going to TG&Y with my mom was always fun too.  I would very carefully pick out the cards that had just the right sentiment.  Of course they all came in one package, but the words had to be just right.

There were always a couple of little boys in my class that I thought were cute, and I had to give them the right card didn’t I?  Then the pressure and excitement of waiting to see what cards those little boys put into my sack.  Would it say, “be mine”, “love you”, “your great” or “your friend”.  I would hold my breath every year to see what card the boy of the moment was going to put in my sack.  Some years I was happy and some years, well you know how little boys are.  Some years there were little boys who put “be mine” in my sack and I thought, “no way” buddy.  It felt so literal.  Just one little card and I thought it meant something much more than it probably did.  At least that’s how it felt to this elementary little girl.

Then we grow up and Valentine’s day is not quite what it used to be.  Some of us marry men who don’t care what day it is and certainly are not going to acknowlege that it’s Valentine’s Day.  They don’t acknowledge their love for you at any other time of the year either.  Heck, communication of any kind is a foreign concept.  Then you have children and they make you Valentine’s cards and you get them cards.  Your love for your children can cover that hole in your heart for a very long time.  It certainly worked that way for me.

Then you find yourself as a single mom with two small children.  While it is a very hard job, my love for them and their love for me kept me going.  Again, they made me cards and I had fun helping them pick out just the right cards for their school Valentine’s parties.  At work you would see co-workers who would get flowers, candy or boast of big plans for Valentine’s day with their sweeties.  I wondered, what would that be like?  I mean the only time a man had ever given me roses, I had to give birth and I think his mom made him get them for me.  Year after year I wondered.

In 2004 I met a man, we started dating and in 2008 he married me and made me Queen of my Kingdom.  He buys me flowers for no reason, he buys me flowers for anniversaries, he buys me flowers for Valentine’s Day.  Wow, what is this?  Now I’m the girl at work getting flowers.    But what I have learned over the past nine years and ten months that we have been together is that every day is Valentine’s Day for us.  We hold hands when we walk together, we profess our love verbally to each other many times a day (and mean it each time).  Our actions with one another clearly show our love, respect and admiration for one another.  We are each other’s best friend and the one we most want to spend our time with.  So while getting those flowers has been awesome, the real gift is the man behind it.  Thank you Keith for being my valentine every day.  It is my honor to be your wife.