In honor of Valentine's Day....

I heart you.

Yes I do honor Valentine's Day. Maybe it's because I
grew up knowing the
joys of receiving construction paper hearts fringed
in paper doilies,
from my parents...cut and glued by their own tender
fingers. I also have
some sweet messes of homemade valentines from Niah's
younger days saved
here in my desk drawer. "JOHANNA you R a GOOD sister
and I love you.
LOVE, NIAH" Yeah those encourage the red hot holiday
spirit in me.

Mostly though it's the story my mom told me when I
was wee about her dad
that instilled a passion for love in me. When my
grandpa was in the 2nd
or 3rd grade he decided to go all out making
valentines for his school
mates... I guess he was a pretty shy and quiet boy.
Every kid in that
class received a homemade valentine from little
Dale. Sweet right? I
thought so too...my grandpa was not a soft man, and
whenever I got a
glimpse of that in him, I melted...even if the
glimpse was in his past.
My heart melted, then broke for him. Dale Fralic
gave everyone a
valentine and did not recieve one in return.

It's stupid little things like that, which affect
our beings so
dramatically. I know it seems intense to say it, but
I think that even
one valentine that day would've made my grandpa a
little less bitter of
a person in his old age.

I know this holiday coming up is over
commercialized, but what holiday
isn't these days? My hope is to make it less about
romance, and more
about love. Yup. I'm being so cliche' right now, but
hey. It feels okay
sometimes. A spoonful of humility to help the grace
go down.

I agree with friend Kat when she tells her hubby
Drew, that if he can't
show her love on any other day, but February
14th...then she doesn't
want any of it. I wish so badly that the welling of
intense love for
mankind I feel on this day, thinking about my
grandpa and such would
last all year round. Oh Lordie....you are amazing.

In other news...I'm leaving for Chicago tomorrow.
Visiting Isaiah and
Elise, dear, dear friends. They moved from Holland
to British Columbia,
from BC to Chi-town. I think by next year they hope
to be in NY, where
Isaiah will finish his schooling and recieve a PHD
and be a brilliant
Professor. I would want him to teach me. They have
taught me a lot. I
made them a valentine, I started organizing a
collection of good
memories I've had with them in writing...maybe two
years ago? I revised
it for the final time this week, and am planning to
give it to them on
Monday.

I wish I could've sent all my friends valentines
this year...I just
didn't have enough stamps or ink in my printer. So
here's a shout out to
all I neglected...

I love you. You make my heart go "boing".