And I will always love you!

As we grow older, ‘gift receiving’ events become few and far between. Of course, birthdays keep coming around, but not many really like to mark the passing years and we all know that Christmas is for the children. I am personally always very excited on my birthday, maybe it is a hangover from my childhood or because I know I will get something I want but will never buy for myself. As time passes, of all the days I give or receive gifts, my favorite is Valentine’s Day. Yes, Christmas and my birthday are good, but Valentines Day is all about loving and being loved. It is the day when love is in the air, and the giving and receiving of gifts increases and underlines the love we feel for one another. My husband makes sure I am nicely coddled on Valentines Day. For some reason it is men who give gifts on Valentine’s Day. Of course, it starts with either a gift tower or gift basket waiting for me on the breakfast table. I know that under the chocolates there is something more. Isn’t it nice to get a tower or a basket that you can dig into and discover stuff? A little reminiscent of pulling gifts out of a stocking, you never know what you will find next. Yes, flowers and candy are usually a part of the Valentine Day gifts that I find in the gift towers and baskets. Without fail I squeal in (feigned) surprise, “For me?” “Just something I thought you might like,” is the (equally feigned) bored reply. After reading the accompanying card, I dig into the gift tower. Of course there is always candy, chocolates and all the usual stuff, all the expected stuff, (not that I am complaining) as this is the only time of the year that I can eat chocolate without feeling guilty. But in the game we both play at the breakfast table, he knows and I know that I am searching for that one special gift that I know is hidden somewhere in the tower (or basket) that my husband decided on giving me that year). Ta da! I find what I am looking for! Last year it was a velvet heart that plays the tune “and I will always love you!” This year I am hoping it will be an equally ‘mushy’ gift. I am a pushover for cute, mushy gifts! A Valentine gift doesn’t have to be expensive (although that wouldn’t hurt either); but the best Valentine gift is one that shows a little thought, a little feeling, a little of that something special that makes you fall in love just a little more with your significant other. I know it is a cliché to say ‘it is the thought that counts’, but it really is true. It is that special effort that shows it is YOU that was in his mind when he bought the Valentine gift, whether it is hidden in a tower or a basket, it was bought specially for you, because he loves you.