Skip to main content

Valentine Recap

Yesterday was the first Valentine's Day in fifteen years that I haven't been with my husband. He was wrapping things up at a music convention in San Antonio, then heading home. It felt weird. We don't really do elaborate things to celebrate, actually. We exchange cards and sometimes little gifts. But we're together.

I was feeling a bit blue when I came across this post from my next door neighbor:

So I'm in line at the grocery store and there's a boy in front of me all by himself with a large bouquet of long stem red roses. His total comes to $21.15 and he whips out a $20 bill. The cashier informs him that he is $1.15 short and the boy, who is just adorable says all I have is $20. The cashier says I'm sorry kid but I can't help you out. There was no way I was going to let this boy not have the Valentine's Day that he was planning so there was only one thing I could do. I went ahead and paid the difference for him and with the biggest smile he gives me a very heartfelt thank you! Happy Valentine's Day to all you love bugs out there!

Reading about her simple act of kindness really gave me a lift. When my daughter went out for dinner with friends, I decided to take myself down to the Second Chance for my own Valentine dinner. I brought my iPad along for company and enjoyed a delightfully pink drink.

The food was great, the service was awesome, and my mood was much improved. While I was finishing my dinner I got an idea. I popped into the Food Lion, then basically crawled the one block drive to my house from the village center. The snow was really coming down and I didn't have much traction. I pulled my coat around myself and put my hood up, then completed my mission.

A little while later my neighbor posted this picture, with the caption, "feeling loved".

Soon after, my daughter made it home from her social event. My older daughter called me on the phone, after her dinner date with her husband, to see how I was doing. Then finally, after midnight, my husband returned safe and sound, after white-knuckling a low-visibility, high-wind drive from BWI.

So that was my Valentine's Day. Different, but wonderful all the same.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

F ³: Who Belongs at the Library?

  One of these things is not like the others One of these things doesn't belong Can you tell which thing is not like the other By the time we finish our song?* Did you guess which thing is not like the others? Did you guess which thing doesn't belong? If you guessed this thing is not like the others Then you're absolutely right.  Our library promotes equity. Our library promotes literacy for adults who have come here from many places. Our library promotes accessibility to materials and opportunities. Our library is hosting multiple Harry Potter themed events?  Tell me this isn’t so. J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series, has and continues to use the profits from those books to advocate for laws that diminish the rights of trans people. She has and continues to use her fame to influence public opinion to view and treat trans people negatively. In short, Ms. Rowling is using the Harry Potter book series to make transgender people around the world less safe....
1 comment
Read more