Valentine's Day is fraught with danger. Yes. Danger.
Do I buy red roses? Too cliche. How about jewelry? Too expensive. What about reservations at our favorite restaurant? Too crowded.
How do you make a "Hallmark" holiday special without being boring or breaking the bank?
You give the gift of YOU.
Several years ago, around this time, I was in a funk. We had moved from a large metropolitan area to a small town, Sedona. You may have heard of it. I wasn't adjusting well. Living in the equivalent of a national park felt like living in a fishbowl. At the time, there was only one movie theatre, The Flicker Shack, which ran first run movies 4 weeks out. Everyone we saw knew our name. I prefer anonymity, thank you very much.
My husband, sensing my malaise, decided to create a gift, a video photo montage of our many moments together accompanied by our favorite song, Someone Like You, by Van Morrison. The song still stops me in my tracks whenever I hear it, wherever I am.
He took the time to craft a message of caring when I needed it the most. He acknowledged my inner beauty by showing shots of me as a loving mother, a fanciful newlywed, a serious student, all sides of me. He SAW me and through his lens I saw that my life wasn't so bad after all.
So this year, or any time really, take the time to share yourself and show the man or woman in your life ways in which he or she completes you.
P.S. In rereading this post, I teared up. It takes very little to touch someone's heart or to create a memory of a lifetime.
Photo credit: Hugh McLeod, Gaping Void Gallery, love series.
