(Fourteen Days of Love)3

We've never made a big whoop about Valentine's Day, around here.  Not even when it was just the two of us. One year, I did make a heart shaped meatloaf.  Don't know if that was actually romantic...creative or silly is probably a better description of that wild hair. My opinion is that you shouldn't have to wait for ONE day out of 365 to remind the ones around you of your love for them.  If everyone in the world is waiting for Valentine's Day to say "I love you," it sort of puts a generic spin on things.  Don't get me wrong...I like when Mr. Snark finds a silly card for me...or buys me some yummy chocolates or flowers or jewelry, but I REALLY like it when he does those things just because.  Just because he loves me...not because H*llmark told him to.  My apologies to my future daughters-in-law...don't worry about Valentine's Day...you will know, EVERY BLESSED DAY, that my son loves you. 

That being said, I decided to shake things up a bit. We've been through a lot and it's starting to feel like we've got our bearings (despite our current situation with night shift).  I'm so thankful for the love that surrounds me within these four walls and I wanted to tell each of them all about it.  I can't take the credit for this idea...I confess, it came from P*nterest.  Why I had never thought of this before, is beyond me.  So simple, but so precious.  Index cards are beautiful things and just perfect for leaving a small note. I think they liked them...if they didn't, no one said anything.  Who doesn't like knowing why they are loved?

These are Mr. Snark's....

 

Let's discuss a few. 

• So....you might think that first card is odd.  Yes, we both have dressers and there is a sizable closet in our bedroom.  However, getting the clean laundry from the basket to it's proper place has never been my forte.  During the time we had the B'ham house on the market, I had to MAKE myself do this.  Can't tell you why I find this chore to be more loathsome than any other, but I do.  Right now, I'm being held captive by night shift and a rebellious streak.  Both will pass soon enough.  
• 2nd row, first card on left....I come from a very opinionated family. Some were quieter than others.  It might surprise you to know that there were many times, during my growing up years, when I didn't feel like my voice mattered. As long as I agreed with the loudest voice...as long as I fell in line with the majority and didn't make waves, things were good.  So, that's what I learned to do...even if it was the polar opposite of what I really thought or felt.  Not so very strange, I'd venture to guess.  Goodness know the Younglings will probably say the same thing about me.  Anyway, it wasn't until My Sweet Prince and I had been married for a few years that I really figured out who I was and decided that it didn't matter if my opinion differed from the those of the ones I loved the most.  And if a differing opinion made them love me less, then they really didn't love me at all. 
• Today's card..."You picked me."  He had other girlfriends.  Ones that lived right there in Knoxville.  Would have been easier.  But, no one said that the plans God makes for us will be easy. He overslept the morning that his youth group was heading to Michigan.  Mercy must have been a gift his youth pastor had to spare, because he called the house looking for Mr. Snark.  That youth pastor could have left My Beloved's oversleeping self in the bed.  And then where would I be? 
 
 

Y1's notes....

 

 

• 3rd row, middle card:  Munchkins see him and they lose their minds!  He becomes their personal jungle gym, trampoline and plaything!  One of our darlingest girls has a unique way of expressing her affection for him....she punches him in what she says is his stomach...it's not his stomach.  You figure it out from there.  His favorite place to be, after morning worship, was at the toddler room door of our B'ham church's nursery.  The little ones all knew him and were willing to go anywhere with him.  Makes me think he's going to be a great dad...in about ten years or so.
• 4th row, first card:  I about DIED when I saw that he had "Woody chin!"  Granted, it's not as deep as Papa's, but it's there.  When Y1 gets really tickled, when he's got a genuine ear to ear grin, it pops up and that make me so happy....and a little sad.  I miss my Papa something awful!  
• 4th row, third card:  I am SO thankful.  I'm not graceful on a step ladder, so his length has been a blessing!
• Today's card:  "Your eyes remind me of Peepaw."  Never thought I'd have a blue eyed baby. I'm the hazel eyed daughter of a brown eyed mother and a blue eyed father.  Mr. Snark's eyes are brown, like his mother's.  Somehow, in the mixing of Y1's DNA soup, he got Peepaw's (FIL's) eyes.  And they dance and snap like Peepaw's eyes.  AND, he can cut his eyes at me just like Peepaw used to...at which time, I call Y1 by his Peepaw's name!  The color of brand new blue jeans...not the dark wash kind...that perfect blue denim.  They just add to his credibility as a heart breaker.  Is it bad when you roll your eyes at yourself. I just did. And again.  There's no hope.

Y2's cards..........

 

 

• Second row, first card:  He is my baby.  Not that he was intended to be.  We just never had any more.  I try not to baby him, but life is sometimes difficult for him and it take everything in me to just let him navigate on his own.  People don't always understand him, but I do...sometimes.  We don't call him our "beautiful weirdo" for nothing!
• Fourth row, middle card:  He handled this move better than I did.  Then the levy broke the day the movers arrived.  He is lionhearted and I have no idea where he gets it.
• Fourth row, third card:  The boy can eat PB&J like it's his JOB!  And while he eats most everything I put in front of him, without complaint, he likes the simpler meals the best.
• Today's card:  "Your joy is rainbow colored."  Some days, it's so bright, I go blind looking at it.  I don't know what he's going to do with his life, but it's going to be stunning.

Happy Valentine's Day...quit reading this and go tell your loved ones just why they are loved!