Tag Archives: Valentine

My Valentine

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Counting down the days before her baby came back and into her arms. Just thinking of him, the picture in her mind brought a smile wide as the ocean and dimples as deep as a baby’s cheeks.

They sat side by side in elementary school. In high school he asked her for a date. The two knew they were meant to be. He had seen her fall and scrape  her knees. She had seen him missing his two front teeth.

They danced their first Junior High party together. They sneaked their first kiss under the elm tree. They wrote love letters each night and before first class started each had the others in their hands.

His parents were modern. Her parents were strict. The two weren’t allowed to date until she was 16. He drove his parents car up to her sidewalk. When he rang the doorbell and she opened the door he had one single, red rose that he gave her.

They went to a pizza joint for supper and then went to the Roller Dome for skating. Holding hands on all couples dance; they fell more in love than ever. Taking her home he held her gently in his arms and he kissed her nose.

She wrapped her arms around him. He kissed her on her lips and the two explored each others mouths. The porch light flickered on and off. She knew it was her cue to return inside. He touched her cheek with his hand and kissing her nose he jumped out of his door and walked her to the front door.

For the next three  years they dated every Friday and Saturday night. They went roller skating, to the movies, to football and basketball games. During the week nights it was study time. Her parents insisted she get an education before considering serious commitments to any gentleman.

The days flew by and soon it was graduation day. They visited each others homes for parties  From that day forward the two worked  and spent all the time together they were allowed.

One day when it was smoldering outside he walked to her front door. When she opened it tears flowed down his cheeks as he handed her the white envelope. He followed her to the sun room and she opened it up and read the letter.

She looked up and saw his tears still streaming and felt her own cheeks become wet. He was leaving. He was being shipped off for the military. They had one week left to be together before they said their goodbyes.

The hours turned into minutes. The time drew to an end. Hugging and kissing she waved to him as he stepped up into the bus. Her heart was breaking. When the bus was no longer in sight, she turned and dried her eyes, walked back to his car that he had left her to take care of until he returned.

She drove the streets until she ended up at the city park. Sitting on the swing her mind went back to the first time they had met. Memories took her from there unto the present. Filling the days ahead would be a hard job to do. Every free moment she had her thoughts returned to him.

The six weeks did go by and he did return. The two melted into each others arms. Hugging and kissing he lifted her off of the ground spinning her around with excitement of holding her once again.

They had three glorious days to spend together before he was to leave  for his next orders. He was going over seas and this time she would not see him for almost a year. The night before he was to leave he drove them to the park.

He let her out and picking up a blanket from his back seat they walked to the sandy beach. The moon shone bright. The air was still, the night was warm. There on the open beach they made love to each other.

The next morning she once again had tears of sadness as she waved to him as he entered the bus. As it went out of sight she sat in his car and wept. This was going to be a long time apart. The days would slowly turn from one to the other.

She asked for more hours at her job and she received them. She poured herself into her work. The two wrote to each other daily. They poured out their hearts and he told her to start planning for their wedding. He let her know of his expected return date and wrote that they would be married two days after he came home.

For a few weeks she thought of nothing but weddings, flowers, and her dress. Work took on a new goal for her as she saved every penny she could. But one morning she woke up and she felt awful. When she stood up she became ill and rushed to the toilet.

A few days later she learned that she was pregnant. She wrote to him to let him know. She received nothing in return. She waited for days, but yet nothing. One morning she opened the front door for  work and two officers stood there.

They asked her name. They asked to come in. The three sat on the couch. They said their news and expressed their regrets. They let themselves out. She sat alone and cried. She touched her belly. She whispered she would take good care of him while daddy lived in heaven. She whispered to the heavens, We love you my Valentine.

 

 

valentine

Well, That’s What I Heard

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Mother’s grabbed their children’s hands and hurried and crossed the street. Men in business suits tossed coins. Teens laughed and sneered. Some even threw rocks. Mr. P is what he was nicknamed.

I heard someone call him that when I went into the grocery store to purchase my month supply of groceries. The government was good to me. I got ninety dollars a month for food.  I lived in a room across the street from the store. My son owns the building. He went to a lot of trouble. He turned my one room into two. He took the closet and turned it into my own private toilet. He put in a used stool and a small sink. It had a lot of rust in it, but it was mine and I knew how to use a scrub brush. He don’t even charge me any rent.

Every morning I would get up and reheat the coffee left over from the night before. I get stamps for food but I do have to be careful. Every day I sit at the table my son gave me. It is pretty old, sort of wobbly. I only got one chair, but that’s alright, because it is only me.  I had to put some paper under one of the legs so I didn’t knock my coffee over.

I watched the old man walking down the street. He wasn’t a beggar mind you. He was just hungry. I never did see this man hold out his hand one time like I seen those  other lazy people doing. You know, those ones who could work but don’t feel like it.

No siree, Mr. P, this is what the store calls him, he goes looking for free food. Maybe he be lucky some days and the local restaurant will throw out some outdated bread or rolls. Old Mr. P will stand near by and wait patiently for something to eat.

My old ticker beats so fast when I see him wandering the streets. I just wanna help him so bad, but I can barely feed myself. One time I did get some cash for Christmas from my son. I took it to the store and bought a few extra things. I made up a Christmas plate and when I saw Mr. P go walking by, I raced outside and handed it to him. Yep, I just placed it in his hands. I didn’t give him a chance to say no. I just said, ” Merry Christmas Mr. P.”

You know that very next Valentine’s Day I found a card laying at my front door. Whoever slid it under the door didn’t sign it, but I always figured it was Mr. P’s way of saying thank-you. I still got that card. Nope, I won’t throw it a way. First Valentine Card I have had in years.

You know, I used to have life so much better. I was really quite a pretty thing, or so the guys in my station used to say. I was a nurse. I worked as a nurse in the Army, but one day I got a surprise letter in the mail. It pretty much stated I was getting too old. It said I had to retire, that I had done my duty.

I got a nice retirement out of it though and I really loved my job. Helping all those soldiers that got hurt. I made a lot of friends, I did. Yep, all over the world. I used to write a lot of letters but most of them are dead now.

My son handles my retirement money. He gives me this place to live. I guess I should be most thankful for the things he does for me, but I always thought getting old wouldn’t be like this.

Now old Mr. P, he is in the same boat as me practically. He served in the war. He was a damn good soldier, so I’m told. But he went and hot himself injured. He got hurt real bad. He lost his leg. Yep, that’s why he limps. He has a wooden stump. Sort of makes him walk a little funny. That’s how he got his name, Mr. P, short for peg leg.

He got sent home on a discharge. He did come back home and he took up living with his parents. His parents I heard was real poor. They took his money and promised him a place to live but they needed his money to help feed all of them.

Well you guessed it, they both up and died. No, not at the same time. When the Mom died, the Dad ended up in a home. The bank came and threw old Mr. P out because there was no money to pay the nursing home  payments with. Yeah, can you believe it? They threw old Mr. P right out on his ass. Left him with his clothes and his wooden stump. They didn’t even try to find him a place to live. Well that’s what I heard. That’s why you see him walking by all the stores each day. The poor man served his country, and matter of fact, so did I, and yet look where we both are now.

Yeah, I guess life isn’t what we think it will be when things happen, but we got to do the best we can and hopefully the good Lord will look down on us and smile. He will keep giving me a roof and poor old Mr. P some food. Well, that’s what I heard.broken heart

Happy Valentine’s Day Brother

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alvin valentine's dayBeing Valentine’s Day I decided to give Al, my brother a few goodies. I stopped at the grocery store and picked up these items for him. I bought myself a Cadbury egg also. I just had to do something to spoil me also.

When I arrived at his facility he was napping. I hated to do it but I woke him up letting him know I was there. He looked at me and gave me that famous smile of his. Eventually he sat up with my help and looked at his gifts. He was more excited about the creme horns than the candy. I knew he would be. It is his favorite junk food. I got him some diet soda as he has been drinking so much diet coke. It is hard on his stomach ulcers drinking too much dark pop.

I bought him some heart-shaped sugar cookies with red sugar sprinkles on top. I bought him a Cadbury egg also and his box of candy. He seemed happy with it. He laid back down and we watched television together.

When it was time to get up for lunch  I saw he had his shirt on backwards so together we changed it. I walked with him down to the dining room. I learned today that for $3.50 I could purchase a meal. I asked Al if he wanted me to dine with him and he said that would be fine. He normally is the only one sitting at his table. This upsets me because he is such a social person.

After we both ordered I observed that every CNA and nurse or any staff that went by he said hi to them. There were a few that didn’t say anything but most of them did respond back to him with a comment. I explained to Al that his voice is so soft that the others could not hear him. I do believe this is the truth too. Al’s voice is very soft.

We each had chicken for lunch. Al had scalloped potatoes and green beans with vanilla ice-cream. I cheated because of the day and I had a baked potato half, butternut squash and a piece of cherry pie with coffee.

Al was definitely struggling today. I just can’t seem to get anything to work with getting those cups to his lips and then being able to tip them enough more to get the liquid in his mouth. I talked to the dietary supervisor and she suggested weighted cups. She was going to dig a few up for him.

I also noticed that a portion of his food went to the floor instead of his mouth from those nasty tremors. He struggled getting food on  his plate. I went to the kitchen and asked for a plate guard. I clipped it on my brother’s plate and it made a huge difference. I told the kitchen to please make sure to attach a guard to each meal plate and they said alright.

The sighing and the tears left as he was able to finally get food on his spoon easier. I don’t see him eat with a fork much anymore. I don’t care. He would have more problems with a fork I think.

He was going on an outing today. He and his driver were going to go get his glasses tightened and get a strap for his glasses. They keep rolling down his nose as it is very difficult for Al to look at a level direction. Just for his photo today, I had to help get his head up far enough for him to look at the camera.

All in all we had a nice time. I told him unless we get that big snow storm I would be back on Sunday. Happy Valentine’s Day bud. Your sister loves you bunches.

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Happy Valentine’s Day!!!!!

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Children's Valentine, 1940–1950

Children’s Valentine, 1940–1950 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I have learned so much

By my friends here at WordPress

Valentine’s Day is not just for lovers

But for them and all others.

I had thought of my brother Al

Thinking of giving him candy

But then I thought he may look at me

And think I was silly and too full of glee.

So I asked all of you what your opinion was

I had so many responses that made me smile

You all said the same as the  other

Valentines are not just for lovers.

So I have made up my mind

To do what feels good to me

I will purchase a box of sweets

And a card for his treats.

I will go even one more step

And buy myself a nice candy bar

This way Al and I can share

As others will  everywhere.

Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone!

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Isn’t Love Grand

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glass

Hilda sat on her front porch chewing her tobacco. She knew that today  was the big day. The day for lovers. The day to show how much you  loved your soul mate. This was the day that she worked the hardest. The one day she could guarantee some hot and heavy petting from her dear old beloved man.

Hilda and Arnold had been married for over fifty years. The kids had been raised and all that was left now was to live out their days with no  hassles. They had lived with Arnold’s parents for a few years before discovering this fine piece of land.

Sitting on the land was a house that was prettier  than anyone could ever have laid eyes on. They bought it with a spit and a  hand shake and moved right in. For weeks and months they spent every minute they had sprucing up the place.

Between him working at the local factory and  raising young kids, they squeezed in hot romantic nights and work in their gardens. They had two gardens. One was for the eyes and the nose. The biggest flowers you ever did see grew here. The other garden was to keep their bellies full. They grew anything that would didn’t die within the first few days.

Every week when Arnold got his paycheck, the first thing they did was hide a twenty-dollar bill under their mattress. Then every Friday night you could see the entire family at the town restaurant ordering their favorite food; fried chicken.

Next they would get some meat and staples from the corner grocery store. After that you didn’t see hide nor hair of  them until the next Friday. They had a good life. For every meal they ate together, they held hands and gave thanks to the good Lord for this fine food. Each night you could observe the kids kneeling beside their beds  saying their evening prayers.

As with most couples the longer you are together, the less you enjoy those special moments in the bedroom. Hilda missed these times and always looked forward to Valentine’s Day.

Today was her day. Arnold had gone into town. He said he had some errands to run but she just knew he was in there picking out something just for her. She spat out the last of her chew and went into the kitchen. She took out the piece of meat she had been thawing out in the ice box and put some potatoes and carrots in it. Putting it in the oven she then proceeded to whip up a cake. She would carefully smother it with some icing that she had laced with some cherry juice to give it some spicy color.

While the cake was baking she ran some water for her bath. She added some rose petals from her rose-bush. She wanted to make sure she smelled real good for her man. She picked out her best dress and gently laid it on her bed. She checked the cake and it was done so after taking it out of the oven she carefully sat in her tub of roses.

She lay there thinking back over the years. She smiled as she remembered her life with Arnold. He had been good to her. He was a good father and they both enjoyed their grandchildren. They never had much but they had plenty of love and that was all that mattered to them.

After drying off and getting dressed she checked her hand mirror. Looking at herself she pushed some gray strands a way from her face. She noticed a few new wrinkles around her eyes. She had never worn make-up and was proud of her skin today as it had held up well.

For today she would not put her hair up. She would brush it out and leave it lay against her dress. She put  her one and only brooch on her dress and smiled at her reflection. There, she was done. She looked her best.

Out in the kitchen she set the table with her best dinner ware. She had always saved the one clear candle holder that she and Arnold had received on their wedding day. She put a candle in it and then proceeded to make her frosting for her cake.

After everything was done she went back out on the porch and sat in her favorite rocker waiting for her man to come home. She must have drifted off to sleep because she was startled by something being placed in her lap.

She awoke and looked up at Arnold and saw him smiling. Sitting on her lap was a brand new box of chocolates. They were in a red heart-shaped box. On top of the box sat one red rose.

Hilda inhaled the beauty of the rose. It smelled so good. She stood up and placed  her gifts in the rocker. She put both her arms around Arnold and gave him the biggest hug ever. Picking up her things she took Arnold’s hand and placed it in hers. The two walked in the house  to begin their celebration.

 

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