I am feeling so loved today! Valentine’s Day 2014 was truly special. It just so happened that Valentine’s Day also fell on Shabbat this year, so my family had a “Red Hot Shabbat” dinner.
Years ago, my husband and I decided that we would use Valentine’s Day to celebrate the love of our family….not romantic love just between the two of us.
I am a happy, festive kind of celebrating girl, but Valentine’s Day kind of drives me nuts. Flowers are more expensive than any other day of the year, and the food in restaurants is typically sucky. I so much rather cook on this holiday, and then go out for good food any other day of the year.
A tradition was born years ago when a group of friends got together for a “Red Hot Shabbat” potluck. We all made “red food,” and I’ve been doing it every year since then with my family. My kids love it, and it is so sweet to sit around the dinner table and share our love for each other.
The gifts this year were so heart felt. Especially from my 9-year-old daughter. I couldn’t believe when she pulled out the Zales shopping bag. My husband has never gotten me anything from a retail jewelry shop. I am always finding ways for him to buy me jewelry wholesale.
I guess my husband took the kids to the mall to Valentine’s Day shop this year, and my daughter insisted on going into the Zales Jewelry store. She walked over to this silver & mother of pearl locket and insisted that this was what I should receive. Her idea is that I’d put a picture of the two of us together in the locket.
I am so overwhelmed with this gift! I love jewelry, but it’s jewelry with meaning behind it that especially touches me. I will have this necklace forever and will never forget who gave it to me and the thought behind it. I am the luckiest person on the planet with a daughter who is so thoughtful and a husband who is willing to go along with it.
And my son’s gift, by the way, was just as sweet. He knows I love tea and am crazy about the Teavana store, so his gift to me was “strawberry rose blush” tea in a special tin. When he gave it to me, my usually “tough guy” son said, “You’re the best Mommy in the whole world, and I love you.”
Yes, I am lucky and blessed, and Valentine’s Day went the way it was supposed to. We expressed our love for one another, and I am touched beyond words can express.
I have used Ben Folds’ song “The Luckiest” as a song of the day before, but it really did seem the appropriate song for today, too. So CLICK HERE to hear this very thought-provoking and special song and know that I must use it, because I am one lucky Mama. Hip hip hooray for family love!
