One, two, three - GO!
That was my tag-shout for more than a dozen times in February 1991 when Sarah and I were helping six-month-old Timothy participate in our annual Valentine-making afternoon.
Each year my children made shoebox mailboxes for themselves.
And they made homemade Valentines to give to each other, and their parents and grandparents, etc.
For Timothy's contribution on this particular year, the kids cut out large red hearts and glued a white doily in the center. Then, while I held Timothy under one arm, Sarah painted his little hands black with kids-safe watercolor paint.
Then Sarah and I each pried his little fingers open and, to the shout of those opening words, we'd swiftly press his hands flat on the doily for a pair of his baby handprints on the card.
We ruined a lot of Valentines.
For Timothy inevitably curled the fingers on one or both hands just as he reached the doily. And then we started all over again.
Some people think Valentine's Day is a greeting card day, a day dedicated to romance, or an obligation of one partner to another.
We at our house think it's a day to give love.
Below are some of the handmade Valentines Rebekah received from her siblings over the years. How can she not look at them today and feel their love?
All the kids are grown now, and no one can take an afternoon off from work to make Valentines.
But Rebekah has kept that spirit.
Every Valentine's Day, she surprises everyone in her immediate household with a small chocolate gift she's assembled. This way of giving is embedded into the holiday for her. I don't think she can envision the day without it.
Let that sink in a moment. Valentine's Day is not Valentine's Day to Rebekah is she cannot show love.
So take a moment today to show love to someone.
The gesture can be simple. Just be sure it's sincere.
Because the glow will remain in the other long after you've forgotten it.
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