Friday, February 14, 2025

Friday, February 14, 2025

Tonight's picture was taken in February of 2009. This to me has to be one of my all time favorite photos! Mattie's art therapist, Jenny, snapped this photo. That day, Mattie was working for hours in the child life playroom with his art therapists. I was not allowed in the room, because Mattie was working on all sorts of Valentine's Day surprises for me. One of his creations was this crown of hearts. When Mattie put it on my head, he then did his signature move.... we touched noses, he looked deeply into my eyes and we then fluttered eyelashes at each other. I can recall this exact moment like it were yesterday, and I truly hoped we would have many more moments like this together. 

Quote of the day: I used to think that the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone. ~ Robin Williams

This morning, after dropping my dad off at his memory care center, I went grocery shopping. I naturally know that today is February 14, but literally when I walked into the store, I was hit by red roses, chocolate covered strawberries and heart balloons everywhere! In part it was disorienting, mainly because I guess a part of me blocked out what today signified. For me, it is the first Valentine's day unmarried. This brings me no joy or happiness what so ever, as for me, life is meant to be shared with your other half. My first reaction to seeing this sea of RED was to turn around and go back home. But that wasn't realistic, as I needed groceries for the upcoming week. So instead, I took a deep breath and marched along. But naturally I observed men around me buying items to acknowledge the occasion. One man was telling the lady selling chocolate covered strawberries about his wife and the significance of the particular chocolates he was choosing. I thought it was cute, but I am not sure the lady selling the berries felt the same way. 

I am always intrigued by the origins of a holiday. I came across this Good Housekeeping article, 30 Fun Valentine's Day Facts about the Holiday's History, which I thought was precious. I included a list of 10 below, but there are many more, which you can read by clicking on the link!

1. St. Valentine wasn't just one person: Nobody knows for sure if the holiday originally celebrated St. Valentine of Rome or St. Valentine of Terni, both of whom were martyred. Legends say that St. Valentine of Rome was a priest who defied the Roman Emperor Claudius II's ban on soldiers getting married and continuing to marry couples in secret. Other stories say that he helped Christians escape Roman prisons and fell in love with the jailer’s daughter, writing her a letter signed "From your Valentine."
2. In the 1300s, it officially became a holiday associated with love.
3. The first Valentine was sent in the 15th century: Charles, Duke of Orleans, wrote it to his wife while he was a political prisoner in the Tower of London. One of the lines in the poem? "I am already sick of love, My very gentle Valentine." Swoon!
4. Not until the 1840s did we get the first mass-produced Valentines. Known as the "Mother of the American Valentine," Esther A. Howland sold cards with lace and ribbons that commercialized Valentines in America.
5. The tradition of giving Valentine's Day flowers dates back to the 17th century. In the late 1700s, Lady Montagu was the wife of the British ambassador to Turkey. She misunderstood a local custom of using rhyming words to convey secret messages and thought the flowers themselves that were used in the rhymes represented secret meaning. This idea of “flower language” caught on in Europe, where specific flowers could represent feelings of love, hate, regret and more. Over time, red roses became more and more linked with romance.
6. Nearly 250 million roses are grown in preparation for Valentine's Day each year.
7. The color of flower given on Valentine's Day holds meaning.
8. Americans spend a lot on love. Americans spent nearly $26 billion on Valentine's Day gifts in 2023. People are also expected to spend an average of approximately $193 for Valentine's Day.
9. Americans send 145 million Valentine's Day cards each year (and that's not even including all those kids' Valentines exchanged in classrooms). This makes Valentine's Day the second biggest holiday for exchanging greeting cards after Christmas.
10. People also spend millions of dollars on gifts for their pets. In fact, around 27.6 million American households gave Valentine's Day presents to their pet dogs in 2020, and more than 17.1 million picked up gifts for their cats. All in all, American households spent an estimated $751.3 million on gifts for their pets on Valentine’s Day.

I could lament about all that is missing in my life, and that could fill up pages and pages. But instead, what I am going to focus on are the things I am grateful for today:

• I am grateful to be Mattie's mom, and his crown of hearts (above) which I incorporated into a collage that hangs on the wall in my office, is a reminder of our love. 

• I am grateful for the text messages, notes, and cards I received from friends.

• 
  I am grateful for the wonderful chocolate covered strawberries and brownies I received from a dear friend. 

• I am grateful that I am physically healthy and can manage my parent's care.  

•  I am grateful to have the love of Miss Indie!

 

Of course, it is my hope that YOU also know I am GRATEFUL to all of you who continue to read Mattie's Blog! Some of you have been on this blogging journey with me for 17 years! We have become good friends through words, reflections, photos, and memories! Thank you for loving Mattie, his life and his legacy.