Oh, Sweet Mystery of Life at Last I've Found You

For those who want to know:

Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is a holiday observed on February 14 honoring one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"). The day first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. It was first established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD, and was later deleted from the General Roman Calendar of saints in 1969 by Pope Paul VI.  Modern Valentine's Day symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards.

Thank you Wikipedia.

I like to give Valentine's treats to all my friends.  It can be the simplest of things.




These cards are from my childhood during the 1960's.  I remember giving and getting them at school.  The cards today will not look exactly like these but you can still find them at CVS.

There is also the option of making a card yourself and leaving it on your cube-mates desk at work or attaching a little ribbon to the card and hanging it on a friends front door or placing it under a windshield wiper.  What a pleasant surprise. 

I particularly like this card sent from Julia Child and her husband some years ago:

What a clever idea.

I will be making Italian Meringue Drops and leaving a box on the desks of my friends at work.  I must give credit where credit is due and tell you that, as much as I wish this was my original idea, it is a Martha Stewart recipe.

I will reach out to other friends with cards just to let them know I am thinking of them.  You would be surprised how much of an impact such a small gesture of kindness can have on someone, especially if they have had a death of a loved one recently or any other circumstance that may have them spending this holiday alone.