“Habby Babatimes Day!”

“Habby Babatimes Day!”  Two small little boys with brilliant blue eyes and bright red curls, gleefully holding “flowers” (also known as weeds) that they had picked for me.

 

“Happy Vabentimes Day!”  Those same two small boys, happily giving me red paper hearts that they had “written” on.  I still call it Vabentimes Day, just like I still sometimes call spaghetti paskebbie.

 

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Mom.  We love and miss you.  J & J”  Flowers, sent to me at work while they were at college.

 

“Happy Valentines Day, Mom.  I love you.”  A note, left with a pink carnation.  9 years ago today.  My inimitable habit of not throwing out flowers until someone gives me new ones is why I still have that dried pink carnation.  It is my single most treasured possession.  I wonder why, as often as I receive flowers,  I am so rarely given pink carnations?  Only once since Jason died.  Only once.

 

For me, Valentines Day has always been about my boys and me.  We always celebrated it.  We went to dinner at a nice restaurant.  We went to a movie.  We laughed and played and joked and made fun of each other. They gave me flowers (or weeds, depending on your point of view).  They made cards for me.  I gave them gifts.  Stuffed animals when they were small.  He Men during the Masters of the Universe phase.  Atari games (remember those?).  As they got older, a check.  It was what they wanted most.

 

Valentines Day 1999 was no different.  I sent them both a check.  Weeks later, Jason told me he had lost his, and wanted me to write him another.   He was having some issues at the time, and I doubted him (I am the Queen of not balancing checkbooks.  Heck, I don’t even write it down.)  After he died, I found that check among his “stuff”.  I’ll always regret doubting my child.

 

This Vabentimes day, remember that you don’t have to be in a “relationship” to celebrate the day.  It’s a day to laugh out loud and fill the world with love.  It’s a day for good, positive energy to flow around the world, lightening the darkness.  Celebrate with your child.  Your best friend.  Your dog.  Yourself.  Celebrate being alive one more day.

 

Drink a glass of good red wine.  Eat a piece of pizza.  Indulge in the chocolate.  Life is too short to say, “I’ll do it tomorrow.”  Do it today.

 

Live.  Above all, live.

 

Happy Vabentimes Day, my dear friends.  You are my steady rocks, and I love you more than there are words.

 

Princess