What I Remember About Valentines Day and What I Know Now About True Love

I grew up the daughter of a florist & greenhouse owner, in a typical small American town. Valentine’s Day was a huge holiday that put food on the table for a large portion of the year. So although there are all sorts of Anti-Valentine’s Day protests out there, I know that my family would not have been able to survive without this piece of “American Capitalism”.

My first memories of Valentine’s Day are of my Dad bringing a beautiful card with yummy boxes of chocolates and of course flowers to my Mom, me and my sister. Also on that day was Mom and Dad telling us we were their sweethearts and showering us with hugs and kisses.

My second set of memories was the celebration that took place each year in grade school. My mom and I would spend time making the annual Valentine’s box that would be attached to the front of my desk in school with a large rectangular whole cut out to receive the cards and gifts from all of my classmates. I think my favorite part was the arts and crafts time with my mom. I had the advantage of having an extraordinarily talented mom with access to all the pretty foil and glitter that her flower shop could provide to make the box what I viewed as the best one in class. I wish I had one of those boxes or at least a picture, but I have the cherished memories in my heart forever! That’s love too, a memory that one can hold and ponder on!

Each year we would have a big box of generic paper Valentine cards that would be addressed and stuffed including candy for each classmate; holding out the special ones for best friends and giving them a little extra candy. I absolutely loved fishing through the chalky candy hearts for just the right message to hand out to each person based on what they meant to me. I can still feel and smell those chalky candies with fond nostalgia! Little packages of candy heart Red Hots were usually in the mix somewhere too; with their lovely smell and taste of cinnamon! There was at some point starting in the third grade a hope of more than just all the standard fare; that maybe there would be a card or gift from a special boy that I liked. I don’t remember specific names, but that was “love” from the perspective of 3^rd to 6^th grader; including giggling girls whispering and sharing what we had received. I think there was a class party complete with mom’s who brought baked goods. Last but not least we had a special Valentine for the teacher; so many memories!

Later on in Jr. High and High School there were “romantic” celebrations and gift exchanges with steady boyfriends and sometimes gifts from others who showed interest as well. I remember my first fresh chocolate covered strawberries; delicious! Thank goodness chocolate is available year round!! I got away from celebrating the specific day. My remaining tradition is to always wear pink or red and or hearts for some fun. I cherish my memories made in childhood.

I also cherish the fact that we three ladies of my family were always told that we were all dad’s sweethearts, not just on Valentine’s Day but everyday. It was good to know from both parents that no matter how chaotic and crazy things got in our family, there was always genuine love; that was the foundation we operated from. It’s a safety and security that you can’t always see in moments of high emotion, but when the dust settles and your logical side kicks in you know that you were loved; that everything they worked for was to provide safety and security for my sister and me.

Over the last 20 years I have had my truest love and my best friendship with my husband. We don’t have any special occasions because everyday that we can wake up and spend time together is special. All of these memories put together are soul food or as my school “The Institute for Integrative Nutrition” calls them Primary Food. We all need Primary Food to survive, also coined by the founder of my school Joshua Rosenthal we all need to give and receive “Vitamin “L” (Love)”. I am so glad to be alive and awake, to have found the Primary Foods that feed me so that I can use Vitamin “L” to nurture and feed everyone that I love!