Happy Valentine's Day!

When Anna, one of my best friends, was away for a year abroad in England, I sent her this Valentine's Day card with all these heart stickers on the envelope. So last year, given that I had some troubles with the postal service (pieces of mail going to or from Canada never arrived, and a Hallowe'en card that arrived in December, to name a few) I thought I'd be smart and get my Valentine's Day card to Peter in the mail extra early. I figured that it would surely arrive on time if I mailed it January 31.

February 14 arrived, and Peter surprised me by having these gorgeous flowers delivered to my front door Valentine's Day morning just before I had to leave for work.  We were chatting on Skype that morning when they arrived, and I was floating on cloud nine the rest of the day and week or so that they were in bloom (as I recall, they actually lasted a pretty long time and then dried out beautifully).  He checked his mailbox, but no card.

February 15 came and went, and still my card had not arrived.  After a few weeks of waiting, we figured it had been lost in the mail and put it out of our minds.  Meanwhile, in mid-to-late February my mom received a postcard I mailed her from Paris in December, and this gave me hope that maybe Peter would get my Valentine's Day card.

One random day in May, after I had left France and flown to Québec, Peter called me.  "Guess what I just got in the mail," he said.  "What?" I asked, having completely forgotten my Valentine's Day card and figuring he was going to tell me about something like a tax return.  It was my Valentine's Day card!

I sometimes wonder where it might have gone in between the time I slipped it in the post box in France and it arriving in his mailbox, but I'm sure the answer is neither adventurous nor romantic.  Even though it was over three months late by the time he received it, I was still as happy as I would have been if he had been able to read my heartfelt message on the right day. Because, as another one of my closest friends once said of Valentine's Day, when the roses die, the chocolates are eaten, and the cards are thrown out, I'm still going to love you.

So Happy Valentine's Day, whether you're celebrating or boycotting it, and remember to show the ones you love that you care about them every day of the year.