I Love Valentine's Day!

I always have actually.

I guess I've never understood the disdain and, in some cases, the vehement hate many people have for this holiday. Isn't that kind of an oxymoron -- hating a day about love?

I have fond memories from my childhood that, to this day, I still think about and smile. Valentine's Day stands out as a special holiday for me for several reasons. Although I love just about any major holiday, this day is not only a day set aside just for love (A day for love and that's it? How cool is that!) but with my family it is the one holiday that was not fraught with family friction.

Thanksgiving was an every-other-year event split between my parents.

Christmas was with my mother. New Year's with my father. (Every year.)

Easter was primarily with my mother until I was in high school.

I think you get the picture. Holidays were a back and forth, emotionally charged time for me.

But Valentine's Day? No, that was a chill holiday. Every year my stepfather bought me a bag of conversation hearts, and although my taste changed for them over the years, I still smile every time I see the seasonal shelves lined with them at my local grocery store. That pink bag of sugary confection meant that someone cared. And I didn't have to have an argument to see that.

As I got older and went onto high school, Student Council and FHA had their annual cupcake and carnation sales. I wasn't popular, but I did have all my siblings and my small circle of friends. There was nothing better than getting a cryptically signed card with U R COOL spelled out in red icing across a cupcake. I loved it every time. And there was the year my sister sent me a carnation with a sweet sisterly message attached (and we really weren't so sweet and sisterly!) and I loved that too.

I never dated, only a few brief dates in college, until I met my husband in graduate school. And although the reservation was at ten o'clock at night and I was extremely exhausted by the time we got home, I still love how seriously he took my words. I'd told him I'd never had a date on Valentine's Day, so this would be something new and special to me. And he made it special. And he's made it special ever since.

This year, I wanted to give back to him all the lovely, special moments he planned for me over the years, whether it be the heart-shaped pizza, the carpet picnics, or the roses he's sent. I arranged for a week of love, and I'm loving it! I'm enjoying seeing his surprise with every little thing I give or do.

Sometimes that's the beauty about love -- it feels so good to give it in return!