When Robin and I were little girls, Valentine’s Day was one of our

favorite holidays.  We would bring home all the valentines we

had received from our classmates and tape them up on the

wall of the staircase coming down from her bedroom- then we would

dress up in our finery and take turns at being the “Queen of Valentine”.

It was a little sappy- even for us- but this was before it was cool

for every little girl to play at princesses and we had precious

little play time. 

We grew up in a working business family.  When we got home from school

in the winter we changed our clothes, grabbed a quick snack and went

out into the greenhouse to fill packs with dirt so that our mother could

transplant seedlings – tomatoes, peppers, petunias, etc. to sell in the

Spring.  When it was dark, we would come in for dinner, watch a little

television and get ready for bed.

And Valentine’s day wasn’t really busy in the greenhouse- not like Easter

or Memorial Day- so we stole some time from work to play.

Over the years, it remained our holiday.  We made each other special

valentines and a special lunch that we shared.  We also shared the

boxes of chocolate and flowers that our men gave us.

To us, it was special- not ROMANTIC!  WE were the Queens of Valentine’s

Day.  It would have hurt more if either of us had forgotten the other, than

if we didn’t have a guy or a date.

Today, I was sitting in the parking lot of the grocery store, waiting for my

husband to pick up an item we had forgotten, when I saw a woman with a pot

of primroses in her cart.  From the back, she reminded me of Robin- same height

and weight, same hairstyle and color- and as I watched her examining and

arranging the flowers and then write out a card and place it  in the plastic card

fork- I somehow knew that she was going to give that plant as a gift to her sister.

I watched and waited as she carefully put the plant into a decorative bag she

pulled out of her back seat and then placed the bag onto the front seat of her

car.  Then she pushed the cart back to the cart stall and made a phone call.

A couple of minutes later, a woman pulled up behind the car, and I saw her

present the gift to her friend- with a hug.

Maybe.  Maybe that is what happened.  It may have been a gift for a sick friend.

It may have been meant for their grouchy demanding mother.  Perhaps it was

going to end up on the table of her daughter’s teacher.  I guess I could have

made up any story to go with the little drama I had seen. 

But tomorrow is Valentine’s Day.

And something about this lady reminded me of Robin.

So- as I sat there- I thought of all the hoopla that goes on with Valentine’s Day.

And of the angst of single women who aren’t in a relationship-

also of the married women who are neglected and don’t feel like a Valentine, anymore.

Mostly, however, I thought about how Valentines are about love, and consideration.

And I thought about what a glorious gift we gave each other all those years ago-

because we chose each other to be our valentines.

 

Happy Valentine’s Day to you all!