My three Valentines

I’ve always looked forward to Valentine’s Day. When I was a child – we’re talking about 10 years old here - I would make homemade chocolates and the heart-shaped box they went in, and give them to my family – especially my mom and grandma. Chocolate truffles, sure, but what I really wanted to make was the extra fancy ones. Mom dutifully took me to special shops to buy chocolate molds and special silver dragee decorations. She even allowed me to temper my own chocolate which meant pouring a giant puddle of the melted decadence on the counter and moving it around with an offset spatula until it reached the right temperature. This messy act makes the finished chocolate shine like the top of the Chrysler Building – who did I think I was, Willy Wonka?

These days, my chocolate making has waned, but my ideas and passion around this holiday are still strong, and how couldn’t they be - I now have three Valentines to love:

1. Love is of course a strong emotion, but as all parents well know, you don’t actually have any idea what it means until you have a child. Watching him grow, love, and be loved is the joy of my entire life, and Valentine’s Day is one of the days I celebrate it most.

2. I’m lucky enough to have met Joe 20 years ago, and have been in love with my best friend ever since.

3. AND and it’s a huge AND, there is one more. Loving a child, a spouse, a parent, or friend is great sure, but the one love all of us can count on, is the love of and to ourselves, and gurl, I do love myself a lot.  

So, even if you have other loves in your life, today I encourage you to take a moment and I know it’s cheesy, but I want you to look in the mirror, and say OUT LOUD, “I love you”. And then come over here and buy yourself some cheese or my Valentine’s Day Collection.

xoxo,
Scott