A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....02-14-05...Sweet Hearts (A Valentine Story)

Billie

[Billie]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

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~ Billie, Mama_Bear, Dutchess, Dansangel, Aquamarine ~

Happy Sweet Hearts Day!

I found the following story in the February 2005 issue of "Better Homes and Gardens" and thought it would be a sweet Valentine thread for the Finest. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.

by Helen St. Marie

"Love is free, but oh, how it costs," was a favorite saying of my mother's. And every Valentine's Day our love, whether for friends, relatives, or a secret someone, cost plenty of time and effort.

As children, we made our own cards, elaborate projects of lace, ribbons, and more. If we wanted to add something and we couldn't find it at home, we had to pay for it at the stationery store. It made you think twice about who to give your heart to.

When it came o sweets, we made those too: cookies, brownies, and two kinds of fudge.

As good as it was, you always want what you don't have, and we coveted those gorgeous heart-shape boxes of candy and other packaged goodies that appeared in the window of the five-and-dime store every February. Yet for most of my childhood I can't recall a single time that we ever got a piece of store-bought Valentine's Day candy.

And then one year, we did.

Hidden in our napkins at suppertime on February 14, each of us found a little bundle of candy hearts, the ones with the little message on each: Kiss me, Be Mine, Cutie Pie, and so many others.

I later learned that the New England Confectionary Company (NECCO, home of the famous wafer) had been making their candied messages by the millions since 1902, but this was the first time anyone had given them to me. They must have come from Mother, although she never said anything about them and never would. But every Valentine's Day thereafter, it became a tradition, one that has surprised and delighted my children and now their kids.

At NECCO, I learned, they have a tradition too: Every year they add new messages to the hundred or so that already exist. Last Valentine's Day, "Fax Me" and "Awesome" were among the messages my grandchildren found in their napkins. The words have changed through the years, but the hearts remain constant.

Of course, making your own Valentines and baking your own treats are still two of the best ways I know to show someone you love them. But if those sweet candy hearts have taught me anything, it's the importance of indulging the impulsive side of love, the side that makes us do foolish or unexpected things, whether it's stealing a kiss, serenading a sweetheart, or wrapping a message of love in a child's napkin.

by Helen St. Marie
for Better Homes and Gardens

THIS WEEKEND'S THREAD 02-11,12,13-05 T.G.I.F. at the Finest

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12-29-04 ~ Hall of Fame #10

[Billie]

Hi, Dog! Happy Valentine's Day! (saw your post when I 'sent' my last one) Gotta go! Will be back!

[dansangel]

*Please* keep me posted, promise?

[shaggy eel]

,,, I promise. I hope all is well for you and ,45man.

[dansangel]

We're alive and kickin'! :-)

Employment has been elusive, but I feel it in my bones that something is going to break for us soon.

Being back in FL has been a blessing, so we just have to take each day as it comes.

I'm keeping you three in prayer.

[dansangel]

Have a wonderful evening ((((((Billie and Mr. B))))))))

[deadhead]

Happy Valentine's Day

[MEG33]

That is such a cute graphic!

[lonestar]

Yippee!! Skippy!!! Flip! Flop! Cartwheels!!

My grandma is home from the hospital.

Weinie

[Victoria Delsoul]

[Mama_Bear]

Happy Valentine's Day
to you, Victoria!

[Victoria Delsoul]

Thanks so much, Lori. Same to you.

I think my chicken is burning, LOL! I'll be back a bit later. :-)

[Mama_Bear]

I think my chicken is burning, LOL! I'll be back a bit later. :-)

Oh, no! You better go tend to your chicken. LOL

[Mama_Bear]

My grandma is home from the hospital.

This is WONDERFUL news, Weinie!

[Mama_Bear]

Love that dancing pink and white bear! LOL

[firewalk]

Thank you (-:
Hope your Valentine's Day is wonderful

[Kitty Mittens]

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY FREEPER'S FINEST!

(((((HUGS))))) to you all!

[Billie]

Just getting back online to say hello to those I missed earlier today. Hope your day was a sweet one, Aqua. :)

[Billie]

Hope you had a sweetheart of a day, tulip. :)

[Billie]

Frank's Place

LOL! Is this another "Daily" thread? :)

[Billie]

Isn't that the prettiest rose! I like the color!