Remember these?
I have lots of good memories of making Valentine
boxes, then choosing and signing cards for school parties. (I crafted a box during the snow this year!) I wonder if my
mother emphasized that process to keep me from thinking only of myself on Valentine’s
Day. You see, it’s also my birthday.
Don’t get me wrong, Mother was a master at making me
feel like a sweetheart on my birthday. For as long I can remember, she baked a
heart-shaped cake and sometimes cupcakes in pans bought
especially for the occasion. I always awakened to presents in fancy wrapping
paper. My childhood was sweet. I felt cherished.
My earliest birthday memory involves family and neighbors
gathering under crepe paper streamers in our basement—maybe my 4th
birthday. (It had to be an early celebration because shortly after we moved there, a
ground water problem turned that basement into a soggy last-stop-before-the-dump-place for castoffs.)
As an adult, I came to understand that some people hate Valentine’s Day. Men dread not "getting it right," and some women feel left out and forgotten. One of the sweetest expressions of friendship
I experienced was when one of those anti-Valentine’s Day people sent me a Valentines. She
knew I loved the day. I haven’t lived in her state for over 30 years, but I
always think of Nancy this time of year. I mailed her a card Wednesday.
I have a story or two I could file under Worst Valentine’s Day Experiences. But
overall, I’ve come to associate the occasion with loving and being loved. I find joy
in picking out cards to send to family and friends. Please accept my heart-felt
wishes for a day filled with love, joy and friendship!
I picked out this card out just for you!
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
… that
they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, ...
may know the mystery of God,
namely, Christ, 3 in
whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Col. 2:2-3
Labels: Birthdays, Love, Remembrances, Valentine's Day
