Valentines - a true Hallmark holiday! ... and free chocolate!

Really it is all about Peace and Love

Timeless Valentine

As time goes by from year to year,
One thing is surely true, my dear;
Though decades come and decades go,
Just seeing you sets me aglow.

Time shifts my body; I start to sag,
When I pass a mirror, it can make me gag.
My joints all ache; I can hardly move;
Still a smile from you, and I’m in the groove.

Getting older can be a pain,
But with you along, I can’t complain.
Despite the things that we go through,
I know I’ll never stop loving you.

Your loving heart turns life to play,
As we laugh at time from day to day.
So I write this poem, and I’ll hang my sign,
Saying, "Always Be My Valentine."

By Karl and Joanna Fuchs

"Time shifts my body, I start to sag... The girls look good though don't they?"

I can't take credit for this poem, but I find it apropos! It truly describes what we go through, year by year. Clearly Valentines day had a significance back in the 10th century... Now it is a day to feel compelled to do something, a day to go with the crowd and say I LOVE YOU! What's wrong with that? No, you should not have to be told to say I love you to the one you are with, but some people just WON'T do it any other time! So, let's ... say it with me "Happy Valentines Day Honey! I love you!" That wasn't so hard was it?
Now the tough part, what to expect? My first husband REFUSED to acknowledge Valentines Day and that bothered me for awhile, then I figured, who cares? He would wait until a week AFTER and fill my car with flowers or something to unexpectedly tell me he loved me. My current husband, (Love you Len!) is usually pretty good about these things even when I say not to worry about it. This year however, he is kind of isolated. He is an hour from town and doesn't get around much, especially not without me. I don't worry though, he tells me all the time how he loves me, tells me I am funny, says I make him laugh, tells me I am pretty without makeup and that is all I need or really want. 
If we were in better shape money wise this year, I thought it would have been fun to take some branches and tie some organic seed packets to them as a Valentines bouquet! Go with the theme but make it work better into our current lives. For the kids the Valentine Fairy always arrived at our house and left them a gift or two and some chocolates... Well, I asked Jess today if she remembered to send the Valentine Fairy a letter to tell her we moved, she didn't. I wonder if she will find us? Well, if she does (um, it IS me!) then there will be a little something at the breakfast table, but not much. 
We had more fun today, making, cutting out, cooking and decorating all of the Valentine cookies and I think the girls will remember that more than a gift from the fairy. (A neighbour's child told me today the fairy doesn't come to their house anyway, they only get a card.) So, Maybe the Fairy Can't Find This Neighbourhood! Too rural and she only does urban 'hoods?
All is well, I really do think that we over do these things and the day is not about the what, it is about the why. So, on that note, there is a little gift from the fairy, we made tons of cookies and are giving some to neighbours and maybe tomorrow at dinner I will shape their food in a heart... Just to say:I love you family!

Jessica's Class Party Tray