AHEAD OF US ON THE SIDEWALK, two young men, both on rollerblades, paused. As Randy and I drew nearer, I noticed one holding a bundle of wrapped flowers. I couldn’t help myself. “Oh, for me! Thank you!” I exclaimed, stretching my arms as if to take the bouquet. They laughed.
It was one of those chance encounters that proved delightfully fitting on the Sunday before Valentine’s Day. Randy and I were out for an afternoon walk on the campus of the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf when we met the teens. The state campus is often used as a pathway by students from Shattuck-St. Mary’s, a private college prep school in Faribault. MSAD sits between Shattuck’s upper and lower campuses.
Given their rollerblades, I figured the two were hockey players at Shattuck. They confirmed that. And they confirmed that the flowers were for a girlfriend. “He’s in love,” the Minnesotan said of his Canadian roommate. I smiled, happy to witness this gentle ribbing, this evidence of young love. Oh, to be sixteen again and feeling madly in love.
Love. While we romanticize love on Valentine’s Day with flowers and chocolate and cards and dinner out, it is so much more than romanticism. Ask anyone who’s older and who has been in a relationship for awhile. Like me. Love is listening and caring and kindness and simply being there in the quiet of each other’s company. It’s supporting one another through challenging days and celebrating together in the good times. Or simply enjoying the ordinary days, which comprise the bulk of life.
And love in February is two 16-year-old hockey players skating along the sidewalk, one cradling wrapped flowers for a girl.
Valentine love, for me, is also handmade valentines in the mail, vintage valentines from my mom’s collection and window displays themed to February 14. It is childhood memories of shoeboxes crafted into valentine receptacles, boxes of candy conversation hearts and Juicy Fruit gum taped to red hearts. It is my 5-year-old grandson’s homemade paper valentine heart stuck to the front of my fridge.
Valentine’s Day brings loving thoughts of family (including my husband of nearly 42 years) and friends. February 14 is truly a day that stretches beyond romantic love. I sincerely hope individuals who are not in romantic relationships feel included. Love is universal. Love hugs all of humanity.
I love the vibe of Valentine’s Day, a day when our thoughts focus on a world full of love in a world too often filled with hatred. On this singular day, we can intentionally choose to exude positivity. We can choose to forgive and focus on that which connects, rather than divides, us. We can choose to listen and encourage and use only generously kind words. We can choose to skate along the sidewalk like 16-year-olds intent on delivering bouquets of happiness. And we can choose, too, to stop, stretch our arms toward those flowers and engage in conversation with individuals we meet in the everyday moments of life. We will all be the richer for having connected, for showing love to one another on Valentine’s Day and well beyond February 14.
© Copyright 2024 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
I absolutely love this post and love the love, on this day, and every day
Awwww, thank you, Beth. And HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY to you from southern Minnesota! I love the love you shine in life and on your blog.
❤️
Happy Valentines day to you!!!
Enjoy your day!!
❤️🩷❤️🩷❤️🩷❤️🩷❤️🩷❤️🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰💕💕💕💕🥰🥰🥰🥰💕💕💕🥰💕🥰💕🥰💕🥰💕🥰💕🥰💕
hope ypur eyes continue to do well!!👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀
Thank you, Kathy, and HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY to you also! You are such a loving person, which always comes through in your comments.
My eyes are doing well. My double vision is mostly gone. My eyes are less red and itchy. And tomorrow I will be down to using eye drops only twice a day. They help so I am grateful. I just do not like anything dropped into my eyes. Once I get my prescription tweaked in May, I expect my ability to see will improve even more. But I need to wait for my eyes to fully heal before that prescription change happens. All in all, I am grateful for how well everything is going three weeks out from my bilateral strabismus eye surgery. I appreciate your asking and your prayers.
Happy Valentine’s Day! The best part of Valentine’s Day is all of the chocolate that will be on sale tomorrow. We never go all out on over priced purchases for the holiday. Love should be celebrated everyday.
We don’t go all out either. I baked brownies today as our valentine treat. Yes, love ought to be celebrated daily. Happy Valentine’s Day to you!
I was going to a Grief Counseling session last night and there are a number of widows in this group plus a mother who lost her daughter, Seeing as how today was Valentine’s Day, I thought it appropriate to bring Roses to the group and give each a rose, Florist was totally out of red Roses, so I got yellow (Yellow rose of Texas – ya know!) They moved the meeting up a half hour earlier due to traffic, I guess I wasn’t running into my fair share. I certainly got ALL the traffic I could handle getting there and arrived 1/2 late. Since my wife has passed, I had no significant other to get flowers for, I also did this because i thought it would help the ladies. As it was, a couple of the attendees were out, and so EVERYONE got a yellow rose – guys included – just hope they do not get the wrong idea. Wishing your speedy recovery and praying for you, Happy Valentine’s Day.
Oh, Gunny, that is the sweetest act of love, to hand out those yellow roses. In your own loss, you are blessing others. Happy Valentine’s Day from southern Minnesota to you, dear Gunny, in Texas.
Happy Valentine’s Day, Audrey! I love how you hang on to those Valentines from the past, revisit them with such love each year. Here’s to celebrating all kinds of love today and every day!
I treasure my mom’s valentines, especially now that she’s been gone two years. Likewise, I treasure that “I love you” heart that Caleb made as a little boy. Oh, how I miss him and wish he didn’t live so far away from Minnesota. I hope you had a lovely Valentine’s Day, Kathleen.
I did indeed. Mick and I went to dinner at an old favorite place in St. Paul – Cafe Biaggio. The snowy evening was beautiful.
Happy Belated Valentine’s Day! ❤
Thank you, sweet Penny. 🙂
I love the comment about handing out roses in the grief session. How sweet.
We made it in time to have a mini-celebration with ice cream with our grandkids!
I, too, was deeply touched by Gunny’s gift of those yellow roses. I’m glad you got to celebrate with Zoey and Ezra.