If I’d been paying attention when I picked the second Tuesday of the month to write the post for SOS, I wouldn’t have. Because I’d have noticed right away that in February the second Tuesday is Valentine’s Day. Not my favorite holiday. 
You might ask, “How is that possible?” Everyone here writes romantic suspense in one form or another. Don’t you have to love Valentine’s Day? Well, no you don’t. I love romance and ODed on Hallmark Christmas movies to the point I considered writing a story for one of those movies, but I do hate the pressure of Valentine’s Day. I hate that we divide people into two groups.
- Those kids in school who receive lots of Valentines and those who don’t.
- Women who have a guy and those who don’t.
- Those who receive the best Valentine’s gift (a ring) and those who receive nothing.
I was one of those kids who moved a lot, so I was always the new kid on the block and frequently didn’t get many if any Valentines. (Thankfully, teachers have become more sensitive about this and now generally insist that if a student brings cards, they must bring one for every child.) Obviously, this happened many years ago, but the hurt remains.
It’s the kind of thing that can give a character in a book a tragic flaw. The thing that motivates them maybe not in a good way. Maybe she’s the girl who sets out to hurt the girl who is with the boy she likes. Maybe she does more than key her car or send ugly notes. Maybe she kills the other girl so she can have the guy.
OOPS!
Okay, sorry. Apologies. This is a Valentine’s post after all. My brain just took off like it does sometime.
I have good memories as a young married of fixing a great meal, setting the table with the china, and lighting the candles. My sweet husband always brought flowers. In fact, for many years, he brought flowers for absolutely no reason. That was the best.
Most days he works late. He’s a very busy lawyer. And Valentines is on a Tuesday after all. Not like a Friday or Saturday night. A few restaurants still had openings as of our Saturday paper. And we usually, eat out on the weekends anyway, so we get lots of nice restaurant meals.
Valentine’s needs to be about friends and telling them “I love you.” Helping others to show how much you love them. And yes, of course, it needs to be about chocolate.
But then any day can be about chocolate.
How do you celebrate Valentine’s Day? Do you have reservations at a fancy restaurant? Are you cooking a special meal at home? Or are you a bit like me and just want to enjoy your chocolate and wine and move on? I hope your Valentine’s Day is whatever you need it to be. Love to hear from you.
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Word by Word 
lovely post, Marsha. Happy Valentine’s Day!
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Hey, Sharon. Happy V-Day to you to. 🙂
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Beautifully written and thought-provoking post! Thanks for sharing and Happy Valentine’s Day!
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Hey, Joanne. Glad you liked the post. Happy V-Day to you. 🙂
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Great post Marsha! For many years I was the “single” one, and I hated Valentines as much as I hated New Years (no one to kiss at midnight 🙂 )
But then I wasn’t single anymore, and my guy loved to buy me big, flashy flower arrangements, and I’d cringe when they were delivered to the door because to me it was a gross waste of money we didn’t have to throw around.
So my miserly self would choke back my objections, and smile and say thank you, and for a week, maybe two I’d watch that money dying, then dump it in the trash.
Now my guy gets me, understands my built in angst about money and wastefulness.
And when he wants to buy me a gift, he takes me to the garden center and makes me choose something I’d love to have, something that will last for months, maybe years. Something I would never buy for myself. Which makes it a special gift…and my tight knickers are okay with that 😀
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Oh my gosh, Kathryn! What a super story. I’ve always loved cut flowers. They fact they wouldn’t last *unless they accidentally dried which happened to three hydrangeas, which I still have sitting around), made them more valuable to me. But I love what your someone special does-mostly because it means he “gets” you as you said. That’s terribly special. I’m lucky that way, too. Thanks for sharing.
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I guess I’m pretty much like you, Marsha. I haven’t even bought cards, which Tom and Mary Beth like a lot. We have company coming in from Oklahoma to attend the TCU-OSU basketball game tomorrow night. Tom is fixing a nice dinner so that we don’t have to go out in the cold and rain. I think it will be perfect.
Jane Sisolak
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Hey, Jane. Bob and I exchange cards, but I didn’t get cards for anyone else. They do seem like a waste. More and more I’m using e-cards. They don’t stack up in a big box under the bed, which your kids have to go through when you die. LOL Sorry. A bleak idea, but very practical.
Lovely that Tom is cooking. Saw those cute pics of baby Sarah getting into the sports scene. She’s a doll. I hate to complaine about our weather when some folks are burried under 15 feet of snow, but it’s really cold, windy, and rainy here. Thank goodness for the fireplace. and staying in is a great plan. :)Thanks so much for stopping by.
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Reblogged this on Jeannie Hall Suspense.
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Thanks for sharing, Jeannie. 🙂
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Hi, Marsha! When I was in school, everyone had to bring a Valentine for every child. it was a challenge to find the perfect one for some people. This year, Handsome and I will probably celebrate over a milkshake. We exchanged nice cards and I got a special hug and kiss. I have had Valentine Hell from my single days and boy, did that make a great short story. Hugs.
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The milkshake is a great idea given Handsome’s issues. And besides how could you complain about a milkshake! Glad you turned youi “ugly” Valentine memory into something super. 🙂
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Happy Valentine’s Day! I think us girls always hope the guy in our lives will do something sweet on this day (and anniversaries!) My DH says he doesn’t buy me flowers because they die and his love for me will last forever. Cheesy? Yeah, but I’ll take it anyway 🙂
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Your DH and Kathryn have the same idea about flowers, Jacquie, but his sentiment is pretty cool. Think you better keep him. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
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Happy Valentine’s Day, Marsha! After opening a card from Bill, I called my sister who has Alzheimer’s to wish her a Happy Valentine’s Day. I told her I was wearing a red sweater and red socks and asked her if she was wearing red or purple (her favorite color). She didn’t give me a response. I told her that I loved her and that I hoped she had a nice day. No response. I used to call her every week, then I started calling every two weeks. I can tell by our phone calls, she is steadily declining. This call was less than two minutes.
Valentine’s celebrations are different for everyone. I’ve always loved the holiday. I love every holiday. Tonight Bill and I are going out for a valentine shaped pizza. We do not have any fancy restaurants in town (Sudbury Falls…lol.) My son said he and his wife went to a wonderful Italian restaurant over the weekend to celebrate Valentine’s Day. When the kids were home, I made a red-themed Valentine’s dinner with a chocolate heart shaped cake for dessert. It is what you make it.
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Ah, Susan, bless your heart. How dreadful for you and your family to go through this with your sister. Alzheimer’s is a ghastly disease. A heart shaped pizza sounds wonderful. Did you have to order it special, or is this something the store does on its own. I’m going to check on this for next year. I’m sauteing chicken and mushrooms and zucchini spirals. Along with that we’ll have salad. Topping that off with a 1/2 cherry pie from Sprouts. Leave it to you to bake a heart shaped cake! Thanks so much for stopping by. 🙂
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Marsha, we went to a pizzeria for the heart shaped pizza. I saw the photo of your chicken and mushrooms and zucchini spirals. The food looked really great.
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