Love looks different

We walked into Ralphs the other day, into a blast of red heart balloons, bouquets of roses and gift plants -- red, red, red. At church yesterday, at least half the women were wearing red, some of them very, very red. I appreciated the concept and the celebration - Happy Valentine's Day to the world!!

But sometimes love looks different. This year, it was quiet. Understated. And much appreciated.

• daughters wanting to return home for a day or a weekend
• daughters bringing friends and boyfriends home with them
• a feast of a dinner Saturday night, shared with family
• a husband who spent Valentine's Day afternoon under the kitchen sink, clearing a nasty clog in the drain pipe and replacing an old piece of pipe.
• the same man's creativity in using a car jack to wrench the pipe out
• tools
• take-out Valentine's dinner, ordered on-line (they must have designed that just for me)
• a text message from an absent child, wish me a happy V-day
  
• sunflowers
• 80-degree days with birds singing and pansies blooming
• my temporary handicapped-parking pass
• Friday morning coffee with friends
• a goodbye visit at the office from our middle child, who didn't want to go back to college without a last hug