VALENTINES DAYS LIKE NO OTHERS

2009
Valentine days come and Valentine days go. Unless you were proposed to or married on that date, after you've eaten all the chocolates and smelled all the roses, the memories begin to blur. However, I won't be able to say that about my Valentine days this and last year.

When I opened my front door this past Feb. 14, I was greeted with an awesome surprise. There across my porch, spelled out beautifully in pastel candy hearts was "HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!" But that wasn't all. A woven paper basket next to the perfectly formed letters, contained Peppermint Patties, a heart shaped box of chocolates, and a poem from THE VALENTINE BANDIT. Valentine Bandit? I'd say that's a misnomer because nothing was taken. Well, nothing except maybe a little piece of my heart. Candy hearts were strewn across the stairs and down the front walk where red heart-shaped lollipops stood at attention in parallel rows down the sides. It was later that I discovered little candy hearts marching across the top of my mailbox, scattered on the ground around the post and some tucked inside.

POEM PRELUDE EXCERPT - "Everyone has heard of Santa Claus and how he comes on Christmas Eve to deliver toys and goodies to all boys and girls that have been good that year. . . . But few have heard of the Valentine Bandit. Each year she chooses homes filled with love and good deeds, and on the night before Valentines Day she leaves little hearts outside their doors to greet them the following morning."

SELECT PASSAGES FROM POEM - "She spoke not a word, But continued her work, When she placed the last heart, She turned with a jerk. She tiptoed away, To her fast little car, And silently started it, But before she went far, I heard her exclaim, As she drove out of sight, For being loving all year, You've been hearted tonight!"

Ahhhhhh, being 'hearted' really melts my heart. Am I a softy or what? Who did this for us? Who gave us this great honor? Who can I thank for this amusing act of kindness? Who can I do this to next year?

2008
My dear husband never forgets Valentines Day and for 28 of the 29 years we've been together he's always delighted me with a heartfelt gift. February of last year was crazy. In addition to his day job he was gigging three and four nights a week and, as usual, was booked for Vday. Our foster-son totaled his SUV that week. He rides bulls, so him getting roughed up in an auto accident was no big deal, but he was left without transportation. I was sick and had been for a couple of weeks. We couldn't risk him losing his job, so I drove him back and forth which took a four-hour chunk out of my day. Since we wouldn't see each other on Vday, my husband and I agreed to have our own personal Vday at a later date.

It was almost dark when my foster son and I arrived home from his construction site. I went in immediately to whip up a fast supper for us. Shortly thereafter, he comes running in with a bouquet of heart-shaped balloons. While asking him where he got them, I'm thinking, 'Oh, that sweet husband of mine, he didn't wait like we agreed.' The balloons with a gift card attached were hovering just at the edge of our pond. Apparently this was a case of misguided love because the card was addressed to "Adilene Sanchez" and it was from a florist in a neighoring town.

Being Valentines evening, the florist was still in the shop when I called. She was surprised to know that the balloons traveled ten miles before being found. I didn't want someone to end up in the doghouse because of Adilene's missing bouquet, but that wasn't the case. Ironically the person they were meant for lived one block from the floral shop and a gust of wind pulled them from the delivery person's hands just as she reached the destination. Adilene got her bouquet and so did I.

The strange part of this story is that this isn't the first, or the second time that we've found balloons on our property. Two years prior, I found a huge deflated butterfly shaped balloon draped across tree branches. Shortly after we moved here one of my sons found a single balloon that contained the address of someone in a far western state, may have been Oklahoma. We wrote to let them know that the balloon was found in NC. Does everyone find balloons in their yards? Or do we live on something akin to the Bermuda Triangle, maybe the Balloon Triangle?

GROUNDHOG OVERSHADOWED

So who gave the groundhog even a single thought on February 2? His annual big gig arrives and the wary marmot gets overshadowed by the Super Bowl. Don’t beat yourself up if you forgot about Punxsutawney Phil because this year’s Super Bowl was a doozie and if you're a football fan, certainly worth talking about well into the week. Phil and his wannabes will get the full wattage of the spotlight on February 2 in 2010. Next year's Super Bowl Sunday falls on February 7, once again in Florida. It will be played at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens. No excuses for overlooking Groundhogs Day next year. Punxsutawney Phil’s counting on you.