Romance on Valentine's Day

The first romantic gesture I ever encountered on Valentine’s Day was in first grade. I think his older sister put him up to it, but it was darling. I’ll never forget him coming to my front door—or the gift. I have no idea where he is now, but I hope that he is living happily ever after with the love of his life.

I don’t know about yours, but most of my Valentine’s Day memories include cutting hearts out of pink, red and white construction paper with dull scissors (except in fourth grade when I swiped my mom’s sharp sewing scissors and took them to school—which might now be akin to bringing a lethal weapon.) Making valentine boxes and bags was always an important classroom event—paste (ugh) upgraded to glue by fourth grade, glitter, rhine stones crepe paper, shiny curly ribbon, white doilies… We’d tape our boxes or boxes to the chalk tray beneath the blackboard at the front of the classroom, then march past dropping our tiny cards in their tiny white envelopes—maybe stamped with a sticker—into our classmates’ boxes or bags. Opening our stash would be the very last event of the party at the end of the school day. Staring at them all day was the best motivation for good behavior!

I’m not sure if we did any “real” school work on Valentine’s Day back then. Later, as a teacher, I always worked valentines or heart into my regular lessons.

Valentine’s Day parties at school were whatever our roommothers made them. The sky was the limit. If you got a great roommother, oh, did you have fun. Balloons, games, prizes… CAKE, fancy party beverages. Of course, the big event was opening the cards.

I don’t remember any Valentine’s Days in middle school, and my high school Valentine’s Days were fairly uneventful. Until senior year.

I asked a boy I really liked to the King of Hearts dance—girl-ask-boy. And on the actual Valentine’s Day that boy, My Hero in-the-making, gave me a red velvet box full of Godiva Chocolates. It was magical—both the moment and the chocolates. I still have the box which now holds some of the first letters he wrote me when we went away to two different colleges.

Today we woke up before sunrise in Newfoundland, far from our high school homes, far from our first apartment, far from our first house, and far from all our kids. We’re on a brand new adventure, and so far, it’s excellent, Phil and Nancy's Excellent Adventure. Today will be my first snowstorm on the island.

And just around sunrise, My Hero gave me a brand new red velvet box—full of Newfoundland chocolates. Like the first Godivas he bought me, I’ll eat them slowly, one by one. And then I’ll save the box. Forever.  

Happy Valentine’s Day, Everyone!