With Valentines Day being just this past weekend I found myself thinking about other Valentines Days that Jerry and I have shared together. Two particular Valentines Days stick out in my memory.
The first Valentines Day that Jerry and I celebrated together was when we'd only been dating a short time. We had met for the first time the beginning of January, had our first date a couple of weeks later and by February 14th we were already feeling that we might be destined to spend forever together. Jerry worked all day long on Valentines Day and we only had the evening to be together. He dropped by my apartment on the way home from work and handed me a warm fresh scone wrapped up in a napkin. (At the time he worked in a fast food restaurant that specialized in scones and honey butter, fried mozzarella and fried pickles.) "Happy Valentines Day," he said. I got a big hug and…and that was it. No flowers, no chocolate, no sentimental card….just a scone. I'd eaten dinner already so I stuck the scone in the fridge for later. I think I may have forgotten about it. I don't remember ever eating it. Sometime later, after our marriage, the Valentine's Day scone came up in conversation. Apparently he'd gone to the trouble of making me a heart shaped scone. And I hadn't even noticed the cute shape. Of course, when he fried the scone and it cooked and puffed up, the shape was a little sketchy. But it was a sweet offering from the man who loved me very much, didn't have much money, but who still wanted to do something creative and special for me on Valentines Day. I still feel bad to this day that I didn't realize that he'd been giving me a gift. Of course…we've kissed and made up by now….and if he ever gives me a warm scone on Valentines Day ever again, I'll be sure to check it closely to see if it is shaped like a heart.
A number of years back I took a trip to visit my parents….without Jerry. He stayed home to work, feed and look after the five boys, and run them around to their activities. I took our two youngest with me (at the time that was Olivia and Emily). We flew to Seattle and my parents picked us up at the airport and drove us up to Canada. We had a wonderful visit and flew home on Valentines Day. Flying with two small children is not very fun and I was not really looking forward to the flight. We pulled up to the curb so that I could get my luggage checked outside and not have to haul it through the airport when all of a sudden I saw this crazy guy holding a sign that said something like, "Will work for wife and children." I felt utterly confused. I was sitting in the car with my mother, but there was my husband…yes, he was the crazy guy with the sign. Was I in Seattle? Was I in Salt Lake City? What was going on? It took me a couple of minutes to process everything and even when Jerry opened the car door to let me out, I think the confusion on my face was apparent. He had decided to surprise me for Valentines. He flew to Seattle early that morning…so he could fly home with us. Once I finally got my head back on straight, I gave him a hug and a kiss, and we laughed and enjoyed a flight home together.
Elder Russell M. Nelson (April 2006 General Conference) reminds us that we need to celebrate our love for our spouse each and every day not just on Valentines Day. He says:
"Marriage brings greater possibilities for happiness than does any other human relationship. Yet some married couples fall short of their full potential. They let their romance become rusty, take each other for granted, allow other interests or clouds of neglect to obscure the vision of what their marriage really could be. Marriages would be happier if nurtured more carefully.
Celebrate and commemorate each day together as a treasured gift from heaven."
My son, Nathan was in the room on Valentines Day listening to my mother talking to my father on the phone. Mom and my brother David have been visiting this past week, and my Mom and Dad had to spend Valentines Day hundreds of miles from each other. As my Mom expressed her love for my Dad and gave him kisses and hugs over the phone, Nathan got a funny look in his eyes that his Grandma noticed. When she got off the phone she said, "Yup!!! Even old people who've been married for a very long time, still feel that way. In fact, they love each other more and more as the years go by." What a great thing for my 13 year old to see the love that his grandparents still have for each other after more than 40 years.
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