Valentine’s Day…a day when I remember my child and all that she gave me…love,
joy, affection, happiness, and so much more.
I was always so proud of her, her accomplishments, her grace, her
beauty, her dignity in various situations, and her ability to draw people to
her and embrace others with a kind and helping hand. That was my daughter, and
there will never be a time that I will forget her loving embraces, her warm
smile, her humor or all the good times we had together.
Her first Valentine Day cards were made at nursery
school and then through the first few grades. Some of the gifts were handmade
with paper, some were plaques made of plaster, but my favorite gift was the
simplest gift of all, a framed piece of lined yellow paper that said, “To the
best mom in the world. You’re always there for me, and I love you.” On the side
of the paper she had drawn a 1st place ribbon.
The cards were never in a serious vein, but ones
that either poked fun at me or talked about my clothes, hair curlers or something
weird I may have done. But they always ended with how much I meant to her and
they were always signed “xoxoxo Love and kisses, Marcy.”
Later on, when she grew up, she never forgot the
holiday, as I thought she might. She made sure I always had a gift on Valentine’s
Day (a piece of jewelry, a new pot for the kitchen or a book I wanted) with a
funny card. She was thoughtful in that respect and always tried to get something
she knew I wanted or needed.
We shared so many wonderful times that I will always
treasure and remember…a beauty contest she was in, a play she acted in, a trip
we went on to New Orleans together (just the two of us), a speech contest that
she won and her leadership abilities with her youth group that won many awards.
This unfathomable emotional loss and pain of losing
a child will always be with me, but her death can never take away the beautiful
memories we shared, and so on this Valentine’s Day, I don’t need gifts or cards.
I have sweet memories of the one person that will always be in my heart each day
and particularly on each and every Valentine’s Day.
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