As a child, I absolutely LOVED Valentine’s Day – especially the Valentines I would make out of doilies and colored paper for my friends. I loved decorating my Valentine’s Box at school. Remember those? It was a short day of work, because we had to have our class party…cookies, candy and cupcakes and maybe some punch thrown in for good measure. There wasn’t a carrot to be found – anywhere!

I got engaged on Valentine’s Day – on Television! It was a total shock and I didn’t see it coming from anywhere, but it happened and it was glorious. 

Sadly…Valentine’s Day has gone from a day all about love to one filled with pressure to get it right. Prices go soaring for food, flowers and even candy and I feel sorry for men who have to create the perfect Valentine’s Day or end up in the dog house! 

We have a rule in our house…no Valentine’s pressure. I cook a nice meal and we sit at the dinner table and reminisce our engagement and then we watch the video. 

This year I got to thinking about how to truly celebrate a day set aside for LOVE and I thought…what if we did a loving act for someone who might not feel loved.

What if instead of buying stuff that doesn’t last, we gave a meal to a family in need…or we created a care package and gave it to a homeless individual…or we gave a toy to a child. What if we actually GAVE LOVE? 

Or what if we bought a whole lot of Valentine’s cupcakes and gave them away to unsuspecting strangers? What if we actually GAVE LOVE? What would Valentine’s Day look like if we did this? 

And what if we did it without a lot of fanfare, but we really got away from the hype and pressure of the day? 

Do you think I’ve lost my mind? Could this even be possible? Can we avoid the hoopla? I mean, Valentine’s Day cards showed up in stores the day after Christmas! What’s going on? 

I realize businesses are not going to be happy with me for writing this, but this year, it feels right to me. I told my husband a long time ago – no extra pressure (unless he wants to take me on vacation or something), but what if we just GAVE LOVE to someone who really needs it. 

We can still decorate our Valentine’s boxes (do they even do this anymore) and we maybe make some cupcakes, but instead of the pressure, I’m wondering…what would this day of LOVE be like? 

I’m cooking dinner and we’ll have beef fondue and veggies, fresh salad greens with mustard vinaigrette, crusty bread and chocolate soufflé. Wish me luck with the soufflé. And during the day, I’m going to drive around and give some care packages to someone who could use a little LOVE. 

If you decide to do flowers or chocolate…I highly recommend Garden Delights and Blushing Berry Chocolates. 

I don’t think I’m losing it – do you? Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts about this. 

Here’s a unique Valentine’s gift that won’t cost you a penny…Check out the offer Paige Williams has on her site for friends of Discovering Franklin. 

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