Happy Valentine's Day

I’m a February Baby, and my second favorite day this month is Valentine’s Day. I love the red and pink and hearts. I’m pretty much a sucker for love. I know that our culture has capitalized on it and that it’s easy to get all caught up in whether you will have a date or get flowers from a special someone, but I choose to just have fun with it.

My earliest memories of this holiday are of my dad, the first man in my life, making sure that his three girls had Valentine’s treats at the table. Sometimes he’d stop at Holstein’s Confectionery on the way home and get us some candy in little white boxes. My other favorite memory is from thirteen years ago when I was newly pregnant. I was laying in bed that morning and felt a funny feeling in my tummy. After feeling the little flutters three or four times, I finally remembered that the doctor had said I would feel the baby move for the first time around the middle of February. It was a sweet Valentine’s gift to feel those flutters and have tangible proof that there really was a little life growing inside of me.

I’ve definitely had my share of disappointing Valentine’s Days, but I’ve decided that it’s more fun to show love to others around me on that day, even if they’re not my “sweetheart”. I love to give/send cards or little gifts to my family and friends. St. Valentine himself was all about making others happy and encouraging love, which is why we commemorate the day he was thought to have been martyred (if my history is off, forgive me, I didn’t read the whole Wikepedia article when I was getting a refresher). As Daniel recently wrote in an essay for his Latin class, “We are not made for ourselves alone.”

Happy Valentine’s Day to all who read this. Go out and show a little love and kindness to someone in your path, even if it’s not your sweetheart!