Happy Valentine's Day

This morning I saw something on television bout how expensive Valentine's Day can be. I have had all kinds of Valentine's Days in my 52 years.

My first memory was my father giving all of us girls what seemed like a huge heart shaped red velvet box with a huge (and somewhat tacky) plastic rose perched on top. This would have been purchased from Dale Bartz at the Drug Store. Inside was an assortment of chocolates of every kind. My favorite was always the flavored cream filled. You know the kind, cherry creme, orange cream, lemon....I still love those. There were the chocolate covered toffee which was usually thin and placed two in one compartment. Then there were the ones with nuts in them. Chocolate covered coconut candy, and the much dreaded chocolate covered caramels that stuck in your teeth. Yech!

I would avoid the paper "key" in the inside of the box that identified the candy - part of the fun was in not knowing what you would bite into next.

But the very best part was that after the candy was gone you still had this stunning red velvet heart shaped container adorned with the most beautiful plastic flower you had ever seen. This box now became the place of honor for all your most treasured keepsakes.

What was in the box? Well that depended on how old you were. As a young child it contained the booklets that came inside the packages of Barbie Doll outfits. Later it held notes passed in class from my best girlfriends. Still later it contained notes passed in class from my best boyfriends. There was always an assortment of pictures and movie ticket stubs, maybe some ribbon, maybe some jewelry purchase at a dime store. Nothing of any real monetary value but priceless all the same.

The candy eventually disappeared and was replaced by cards. Cards came from everyone in the beginning, your parents, grandparents, school teachers and classmates (even the ones you didn't like because it was a class rule to give everyone a card).

Then as a teen you waited for that card from that someone special. I remember some of the girls in school would have a whole handful from all of their someones special. Some would have candy, some stuffed animals and occasionally someone would get a rose. Now I'm not being a whiner but my Valentine's Day card from my special someone, whoever it was at the time, never arrived. Isn't that funny, after all these years I still feel that twinge of sadness over that? I can't say why I didn't get anything except to say the crowd I ran with just wasn't the type of people to do that kind of thing.

As a young adult I remember getting a very generic "glad to have a friend like you" card from a guy I was crazy about - now that stung! But I survived. Then for many years I got the obligatory cards, flowers, jewelry (but never candy -my ex was a fanatic about how I didn't need to have and candy because of the calories - sometimes I remember why I divorced him....). Those gift were nice but irritating at the same time because of the spirit in which they were given.

Soon my precious son came along and he would make me the most beautiful little cards and gifts. The are the most precious and priceless things I every received from my truest love.

Then almost a half century into my life I came across this old broke down biker...and on Valentine's Day he gave me a red velvet heart shaped box of chocolates and said he remembered me mentioning my dad had always given me candy ..... God I love this man....