Love and Valentines

Simply the thought of Valentine’s Day conjures up visions that remind us of love. Well, I have both strong memories from the past and good plans for this Valentine’s Day that I am happy to share.

In 1976, not on Valentine’s Day, but on Father’s Day, my son was born. Because it was Father’s Day, because I adored my father, and because our son’s father agreed, we named our son after my father, John Valentine. I have no idea why that was his middle name. He was a Junior and perhaps his dad had been born on Valentine’s Day. Nevertheless, my son’s name was John Valentine and, 56 years later, I continue to love him dearly. I always send him a special Valentine’s Day card, but this year he’s getting something different.

A few weeks ago, I attended a local concert featuring a group of barbershop quartets. As I was leaving, I picked up a flyer describing a Valentine’s Day special. For a relatively reasonable price, I could arrange for a quartet to arrive at my house at a designated time on Valentine’s Day, sing two romantic songs, present a rose, and take a picture of us. My husband and I aren’t much for gifts any more — he never was! — but this offer seemed too good to ignore. We’ve been married for 32 glorious years, I feel more blessed every year, and I love the thought of surprising him with this.

I arranged for the quartet to arrive between 10 and 11 am, a time Paul is generally home. Unexpectedly, as a follow-up to his recent knee replacement, he arranged for his next physical therapy appointment to be at 10 am on Valentine’s Day. When he told me, I asked him to change it to a different day, with no explanation. He seemed a bit confused, but consented. I’ll need to keep him from making any other plans for that morning.

I also texted my daughter-in-law (and I rarely text) and asked her to call me when John wasn’t around. During our phone conversation, I asked what time they would both be home on Valentine’s Day, because I wanted to arrange for a surprise delivery. She would know the timing, but not what was being delivered, as it will be a gift and surprise for both of them. I asked her not to divulge any info to John.

So, I have these two Valentine surprises planned for the most important valentines in my life. If you read this before Valentine’s Day, please don’t spoil the surprise!

Then, when I contacted my quartet group to put in this additional order, I learned it was out of their territory. Fortunately, they gave me contact information for another quartet group in John’s area, which promised to deliver a similar set of songs, with a rose, a dozen chocolate kisses, and a picture at 4 pm, the time they needed.

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