Valentine's Day

I have a friend who used to loathe Valentine's Day. I guess the whole "do you have a date?" thing put her off. She's a wife and mother, now, so the date thing is sorta taken care of. She still doesn't like the day, but she's trying to change for the sake of her son. She doesn't want to be the curmudgeon mom who refuses to bring heart-shaped cookies to preschool, thereby making her child a pariah.

I'm grateful my mom always de-emphasized the "couples in love" part of Valentine's Day. She made it more about love of friends and family, and love of home. She would help me buy or make heart-shaped cards for every child in my class. For the family, she'd bake us a heart-shaped cake or cupcakes or cookies. When I went off to college, she'd mail me a Valentine every February.

I love showing my house some love for Valentine's Day:

I don't go overboard and decorate from basement to rooftop, but I put little touches here and there:

It's easy, it's simple, and it makes me happy:

Not all Valentine's displays have to be red, pink, or lavender:

But they all make me smile:

Like Won Ton, in a bright bunch of February flowers.