Be Mine Nice Girl

Ahhh, tomorrow is Valentine's Day..what could be more lovely? Tonight there
is a cold rain in Northern Indiana. The kind of rain that seeps through your
bones..the kind of cold that is only cured by a hot bubble bath or a glass of
wine or a sweetheart.

I love Valentine's Day...I always have. I love red glitter that falls into
the corners of envelopes and stays on the carpet for weeks afterwards! I love
the candy hearts...I love the element of surprise!! Eight years ago my friend,
Barbie, had a bouquet of balloons delivered to her with a lovely ring
attached from a new admirer!! She and Jake had never even met yet...but it was
Kismet and they are now together!! Now that is a romantic story!!

New Love Miss You

In elementary school we all covered shoeboxes with scarlet paper
hearts...adding a bit of pink or dollies, whatever the teacher brought our
way. We put them on the edges of our desks and one at a time our friends
dropped Valentines into them. When the day was over we took them home. My sister
Jo and I played with them for hours. We lined them up on the window
seat...categorized them, read them until Easter!!

In Junior High School (it was Junior High School then) we waited for a
certain boy to bring us a Valentine. The first thing we did was turn it over to see
how much the card cost!! (Can you believe we did that???)
A card that cost a dollar..well, it was practically an engagement ring!! One Valentine's Day, my friend Pat and I glued paper hearts all over our white sneakers and skirts...we thought we were the cats Meow. I can even remember the red bow I wore in my hair on that day! It didn't matter that we smelled
of Elmer's glue all day long!!

My Man All Mine Be Good

I remember once in college receiving two lovely bouquets of roses on one
particular Valentine's Day. Yes, I have to admit I was dating two young men at
the same time. The problem was that the card was missing...so who sent the
flowers? I called the florist, but they couldn't help me! The only thing I could
think of to do was to call each of them. Surely the one who sent the flowers
would say, Did you get the flowers???? Luckily the scheme worked and the
proper gentleman was thanked!!

For You My Man

Years later, I sat with my three sons at the kitchen table at the farmhouse
while they painstakingly wrote out their Valentines. "Yes," I would say, "you
have to send them to the girls too!!" Now they are all married with their
own Valentine Sweethearts.

Last year I met Philip in Asheville to celebrate Valentine's Day and his
grandson's birthday. He presented me with a giant box...a telescope for star
gazing. He also made me a homemade card, To Lou Ann, From Philip...it was (and
still is as it sits on a shelf in my dining room) much more lovely and romantic
than anything Hallmark could make. Sigh.

Miss You Love Life

Today I spent the afternoon at my friend, Kris's house, for our first
knitting club afternoon. All women and children..each of us working on different
projects..we had heart cookies with icing and tea from a heart shaped tea pot.
The talk turned to stories and most were romantic, Valentine stories...some
funny, some actually quite pathetic!! It was an old-fashioned afternoon and a
nice way to spend a rainy, cold Sunday.

Ahhh, tomorrow is Valentine's Day. I will wear a red glitter skirt and a big
red bow in my hair. Even though my sweetheart lives far away...I will think
of him.

Some of you are old hands at this romance thing...some are still new...but
for a day, remember your sweetheart as you used to ...don't take the day for
granted...it is not just another day, it is Valentine's Day.

The music for tonight is my local radio station up on the hill playing lovely
old romantic songs...my poetry is..well, of course, the sayings off of
Sweehearts that I randomly tossed on my dining room table.

Until next week, be well, be loved.

Lou Ann