An Early Valentine

I'm sort of a nut about valentine's day. Maybe it has to do with loving the color red. Or maybe it's remembering carrying home a shoebox full of valentines in grade school, hurrying home in the cold, crisp Michigan weather, to open them up, one by one. I love homemade valentines of course. I love valentine treats. I love giving valentines. It's just a fun holiday. Nothing heavy. Even though without your beloved it is a bit sad, it can still be fun. So today, I put my valentines books out. It's February afterall. Just silly Peanuts and Snoopy books and a few others from when the kids were young. And inside one of them was a note that must have been sent with flowers, from Lou. Must have been from a Valentines Day past. A simple note that made me catch my breath. "Love you always and forever". An early valentine, from Lou. It made me happy, actually. Like he had just sent it from heaven. I'll have to open it again on Valentine's day and try to surprise myself. That's the hard part.