All week I’ll be thinking about what to get Carol for Valentine’s Day.
My friend Neil Warren, founder of eHarmony, says that you shouldn’t get the usual for the loved one in your life. You should show a little imagination. Forget the long-stemmed roses or the standard box of chocolates. Use your creativity.
About the only time I did that was when I forgot all about Valentine’s Day (sometimes we husbands forget, at our peril). At the eleventh hour, and I mean well past eleven o’clock, I scrambled through my bureau, hoping not to wake up Carol. There at the back of a drawer I found these pink heart-shaped Post-It notes. Never mind that Carol probably gave them to me three or four Valentine’s Days back.
Like a Christmas elf or the Easter bunny, I started writing every nice thought I could on the notes and then used them to create a path from the bedroom to the bathroom to the kitchen. At the end of the trail I made another card that said it all: “I love you.”
“Wow, Dad,” said our son, Timothy, seeing the display the next morning.
“That was great, Dad,” said William, our older son.
“You remembered!” Carol said, giving me a kiss.
“Just barely,” I said under my breath.
I promise to be a little more organized this year, but here’s a comforting thought: the Holy Spirit grants all sorts of creativity to anyone trying to say “I love you.” My friend Neil is probably right. Do something different. Surprise your mate. Just don’t forget!
Rick Hamlin is the executive editor at GUIDEPOSTS.
