Love Is

I've always loved the colors, the chocolate and the romantic notions surrounding Valentine's Day. But, let's be honest: it's a peculiar holiday. I often wonder why we need a holiday to tell someone we love them. Before I was married (and usually not dating someone), it was actually a vivid, and sometimes difficult, reminder that I would be buying my own box of chocolates that year. Even after I was married, it seemed a bit forced to troll the aisles of the supermarket, picking up red heart boxes, pink teddy bears or plastic trinkets to show your love. Honestly, besides the vast array of wonderful chocolate confections, I didn't really care for it.

But then came this year. And something changed.

I think this little heart of mine changed a bit. Instead of dreading and trying to ignore the commercial feel of the holiday, this year I wanted to show people what love is - to me.

For breakfast, I woke up early and made crepes which we doused in butter, powdered sugar, strawberry jam or whipped cream. As silly as it may sound, dining on sugary goodness with my little family of 3 made my heart happy. Love is serving others.

Because Dave's birthday is two days after Valentine's, I wanted to do something specific for each day so that both would receive equal attention. For years, we've wanted to print and frame pictures to decorate the house. Because I forgot to include funds in our budget for V-Day, I eagerly donated my birthday money to the purchase of 8 large frames and to enlarge photos of some of his outdoor adventures. Even though it was a present for both of us, I knew it would be a great surprise and treat for Dave. Love is sacrificing... cheerfully.

After Dave went off to work, the house magically transformed into Valentine's Central. Decorations festooned the downstairs and the mixer whirled & whipped the cookie dough. I laid out an assembly line of boxes, bags, ribbon, flowers and other supplies. Of course, I had to sample the cookies and frosting for quality control before sending them off to loved ones, so I had to even out the sugary with some salt (thus, the picture of the delectable Kettle Chips). Love is dedication.

Originally, I was going to use my friend's (Tamara) awesome recipe which called for sour cream. Unfortunately, that was the one ingredient I didn't have, so my Best Bites cookbook came to the rescue. Their recipe was simple and did not require sour cream... and the finished product was perfect! I baked up 5 dozen cookies and topped each with an icy-white, buttery frosting, followed by loads of red, pink, white & silver sugared bits. Each cookie was decorated by hand, and while I admit I find that creative process enjoyable and even a bit cathartic, they were made with each person in mind. Love is giving a bit of yourself.

I hate to admit this because some of the recipients of my goodies read this blog and I don't want them to feel bad because I CHOSE to do it, but in classic Michelle-style - I overdid it a bit (Dave is nodding his head). Unfortunately, I ran out of time to deliver on the actual day, but hand-delivered our goodies the following day (thankfully, no one seemed to care they were a day late). My delivery trip took exactly 4 hours and 10 minutes. Love is tenacious and long-suffering... and just a tad bit crazy.

To finish off the Big Day o' Love, I made one of Dave's favorite meals. We dined on Asian Lettuce Cups, red grapes & mandarin oranges, Gran-Grape juice and a generous supply of Peanut Butter M&Ms. If that's not a meal fit for a Valentine, I don't know what is! And even though we agreed that the frames/pictures would be our gift to each other, he stealthily arrived home with a beautiful bouquet of pink & red roses and salal leaves, with exactly no baby's breath OR leatherleaf fern. Be still my heart, that man knows me so well. Love is full of surprises.

I'm under no grand illusions that Love is perfect. The thing that is perfect - the real beauty of Love - is that we are trying our very best and we thrive in the imperfection of it all.