Have you ever received a love note?
There’s something about receiving an expression of love and affection that you can touch and reread that fills the senses and warms the heart. Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite holidays and the main reason why red and pink are my favorite colors. From the sugary sweetheart candies with those cutesy valentine messages to red rose bouquets with dark chocolate truffles and a glass of bubbly, that day on the calendar signifies love and sweetness. The hint of hopeful longing and returned affection has always been one of my favorite plot lines in classic and contemporary romance stories.
But the greatest romance story of my life happened on Valentine’s Day 2013 when my husband proposed. He’s a bit of a romantic at heart and even though most days together aren’t glamorous, we get to remember that special night when he asked and I answered YES! Every year, we plan a special dinner at home to commemorate our engagement. It’s a lot more affordable and we can even enjoy our homemade gourmet meal dressed comfortably!
Our relationship started out with a love note. When we first met, he helped me as a struggling entrepreneur have free publicity at an event he coordinated so I bought him a thank you card. It’s all I could afford. He told me he had never received a thank you card before and it really impressed him. Ever since then, we exchange cards at every holiday.
But my love affair with love notes and valentines goes way back!
In elementary school, my mom made me a special Valentine box. She took an old shoe box and wrapped it with green wrapping paper. Then she glued on red wrapping paper cut into heart shapes. I was so proud of that box and couldn’t wait to get home and read all my valentines!
Later as a teenager when couples were exchanging Whitman’s Samplers, my mom bought me Valentine’s heart-shaped boxes of chocolates. I wasn’t exactly a boy magnet and never received any chocolates or valentines from my unrequited crushes. Somehow even after I started dating later in high school, those immature relationships either ended just before or started after February 14th. Funny how the timing worked with boys back then!
I have always been a hopeless romantic even if I only imagined being the heroine in those First Love by Silhouette and Love books I devoured as a preteen. Then came the teenage and young adult years when I couldn’t be pulled out of a Jane Austen or Bronte novel sprinkled with a few Zebra romances.
It’s funny remembering how I wanted so badly to have a valentine when I was younger and the love of my life chose Valentine’s Day to ask me to marry him!
Valentine’s Day is about more than just romantic love. Even when I celebrated alone, I had other valentines to love like my parents and other family, friends, and pets. No matter the day on the calendar or if you’re single or taken, the greatest Love Note of all comes from above!
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8, NIV
And He is the best Valentine of all!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Sophie
Sophie Leigh Fox 