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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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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[Calpernia]

Happy Valentine's Day!

[MeekOneGOP]

Wishing all the ladies on FR's Finest a VERY Happy Valentines Day! :^D

[DollyCali]

[The Mayor]

Hi ya Gabz!

[Gabz]

It's Monday!

I've got the room prepped - now I'm just waiting for the caffeine to kick in to give me the gumption to go tear out the ceiling in my bedroom! Thank goodness I didn't plan to do any of the spackling or Kilz application today - it's damp and rainy.

[DollyCali]

Spectacular Sweetie..

You can't help but smile when you go through this...

Hope you all have a great day.. I am off in next hour or so for a 'mystery" outing with my Valentine for the Day.. My instructions were to dress in "outdoorsy" clothes & bring along formal. How's that for a mystery?

[luvie]

Oodles of Valentine wishes to all of the FINEST!!!

[Gabz]

That sounds like a WONDERFUL mystery. have a GRAND time!

[luvie]

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY CANTEENERS AND OUR MILITARY!

[luvie]

Well *blush* I sent a Valentine to the wrong forum--so never mind the sentiment! It is for you guys too!

[The Mayor]

Alot of us came from the beginning of the canteen..

I understand..

[luvie]

Thanks! I hope everyone else will, too! I tried to do this in a hurry before going off to work and just got mixed up (it doesn't take much for me to get mixed up!!!)

[nicmarlo]

Thank you, meek! : ) Hope you have a nice Valentine's Day! Takin' your sweetie out for dinner tonight?

[LadyX]

Dear Everyone,

Trotting out a One-Size-Fits-All Valentine for The Finest Family --

Thanks to Miss Billie for creating this wonderful gathering place -
to all, who make it a haven and place of joy -
and most especially,
thank you to our miitary men and women
who keep the torches of freedom and America
shining so brightly --

[Darksheare]

Thanks!

[MeekOneGOP]

Hmm. I dunno. Maybe. :^)

[LadyX]

"He is more likely to give me chocolates, but I'm not complaining"

This triggers the memory of the Valentine's Day in 1962 when the two boys and I had joined my husband in Rapid City, South Dakota on Christmas Eve...

I had just realized I was 'with child,' throwing up often my big clue; morning, noon AND night.
Said husband sashayed in after duty, bearing one red rose - a large box of chocolates, and a chocolate cake.

Mind you, I never was a chocoholic, and just *looking* at all of it made me dash to the bathroom again!

Loved the rose, but needless to say, the three fellas happily shared all the chocolate..:))

[LadyX]

For my two favorite bears:

[LadyX]

For a Certain Fuzzy Bear Cuzzin:

(come out - come out - wherever you are!)

[The Thin Man]

Guess I'm just a sentimental fool. :-)